I was surprised to read Takashi Kitazume's July 17 article "Global demand for nuclear power remains." The view expressed by energy researcher Jane Nakano, quoted in the article, is simply appalling.
I believe that nuclear power must be phased out worldwide because it brings about nothing except the potential for terrible damage to all living creatures. The milk taken from cows that feed on straw contaminated with radioactive fallout isn't good to drink. The same cows are disposed of by arrogant, selfish people. Farmers can't sell vegetables contaminated with cesium. Fishermen can't sell their catch when it's contaminated with harmful substances.
And people who lived near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant had to evacuate their own homes after 3/11 because of high levels of radiation.
Yet, despite all the terrible consequences of nuclear meltdowns, there are people who want to push on with nuclear power generation. Why? Because they can make money by generating electricity domestically, by building and exporting nuclear reactors, and by investing in the nuclear power industry.
Human beings haven't even learned how to dispose of spent nuclear fuel, which keeps piling up on our precious Earth.
So, I admire the sagacious decisions by Germany, Italy and Switzerland to close their nuclear plants.
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.