The biggest cartel in Japan, if not the world, has long involved the government and the utility companies. Is it any wonder, then, that Prime Minister Noda has taken the unilateral action of giving the go-ahead to restarting Japan's nuclear power industry, despite the common-sense reality that nuclear power, which isn't even necessary, can never be safe?
Although former Prime Minister Naoto Kan bore the brunt of the public's criticism following the Fukushima nuclear accidents, he actually was one of the few politicians with enough sense and scruples to oppose nuclear power.
For the Machiavellis in government and the power industry, Kan became the perfect scapegoat whom they used to deflect the real responsibility away from themselves.
The Fukushima nuclear accidents were both the luckiest and unluckiest thing that ever happened to Japan. On one hand they nearly caused a chain reaction that would have taken many lives and scuppered Japan's economy. However, the escape — albeit a narrow one — has emboldened the cartel to risk Japan's safety and welfare again by restarting the doomsday cycle.
The accidents could have led to a case of once bitten twice shy, but now the power companies, with the politicians in their pockets, are hellbent on putting Japan back in peril to satisfy their greed.
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.