Regarding the March 28 Kyodo article "Nuclear policy called into question": Debates over the nuclear policy in Japan have always been centered on the interests of the current generations or, perhaps, a limited number of people engaged in promoting, constructing and operating nuclear power plants.
Even a phrase like "not posing an immediate risk to people's health," which we've been hearing recently in official announcements on radioactive contamination of our soil, water and air, sounds as if authorities are not responsible for the consequences on future generations.
If we have a little courage to change our lifestyle a bit to reshape an economy now based on mass production, mass consumption and mass disposal, we won't need anymore nuclear power plants or substitute thermal plants.
All we have to do is to give up some excessive services and luxuries that we didn't have anyway in the not-so-distant past for the sake of future generations. We don't have to go all the way back to the days of primitive hunters and gatherers.
All the plans to construct nuclear power plants in Japan must be suspended until a question as simple as this can be answered: If these plants are really safe and clean, why not plant them in the coastal industrial zones near big cities, where the sea water has already been polluted and demand for electricity is high, instead of in rural areas with clear sea water and rich marine life, where people live slower and more eco-friendly lives?
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.