Following the June 16 quake in Hakodate, Hokkaido, nuclear plant operators in the area reported no damage, but even if there were problems, because of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new anti-democratic secrecy law, they would not necessarily report them, nor would they feel any compunction to do so. The Nuclear Village Idiots can cover their backsides very nicely with this new secrecy law.

Public safety is hardly a concern of politicians or the nuclear power plant owners. Japan's very much a totalitarian state once again. It simply uses democratic-sounding titles to cover up the true authoritarian nature of the government and senior industrial officials. It's Tojo's Japan with velvet gloves. Let's hope the gloves never come off.

ROBERT MCKINNEY

OTARU, HOKKAIDO

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.