Two of the Axis powers of World War II have declared their intention of shutting down all their nuclear power plants. I wish to congratulate Germany and Italy for their decisions. Unfortunately the remaining country of the old tripartite war alliance hesitates to do the same.
Japan should be ashamed of itself. A country that often seems almost proud to refer to itself as the "only nation" attacked with nuclear bombs — when its purpose is to advocate nuclear weapons disarmament and nonproliferation — persists in proclaiming its loyalty to nuclear power, despite the horrific damage wrought by the March 11 disaster in Fukushima.
What would Hiroshima and Nagasaki's victims think of us?
Although he has not performed well in kicking off reconstruction of cities and villages in the Tohoku-Pacific region, Prime Minister Naoto Kan seems to be the only politician who had the courage to call for the shutdown of nuclear plants in Japan. We should at least give him credit for that instead of bullying him day after day. I am not a supporter of the prime minister, but as a citizen of a country facing an ominous future, I cannot help recognizing his courage, and I hope that whoever replaces him will show just as much courage by moving toward the abolition of all nuclear plants in this country.
The research costs of seeking nonnuclear power generation should be far less than the money we will end up spending to patch up the stupidity we have demonstrated in Fukushima.
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.