記者の目：再稼働急ぐ前に「脱原発」探れ＝西川拓

(Mainichi Japan) March 9, 2012
Japan should decrease dependence on nuclear power instead of trying to reactivate reactors
記者の目：再稼働急ぐ前に「脱原発」探れ＝西川拓

The government's pledge to decrease Japan's reliance on nuclear power plants following the outbreak of the disaster at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is hardly mentioned in today's political world.
　東京電力福島第１原発事故を受けて菅直人・前首相が表明し、野田佳彦・現首相も「引き継ぐ」と言ったはずの「脱・原発依存」だが、その後ほとんど政治の話題に上らなくなった。

In his policy speech at the outset of the ongoing Diet session, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who appears to be preoccupied with raising the 5 percent consumption tax, did not show strong enthusiasm for decreasing Japan's dependence on nuclear plants.
This is despite the fact that following the outbreak of the nuclear disaster, then Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared that he would seek to decrease Japan's reliance on nuclear power and Noda has promised to take over that policy.
野田首相の頭の中は消費税増税で占められているのか、今国会の施政方針演説でも強い決意が感じられなかった。

An opinion poll that the Mainichi Shimbun has conducted shows that over 70 percent of the public are in favor of relying less on nuclear power. Therefore, the government has a responsibility to show specific ways to achieve this goal, such as the development of alternative energy sources.
毎日新聞が実施した世論調査などでは７割が脱原発路線を支持している。ならば、代替エネルギーの積極的開発を表明するなど、原発後への具体的な道筋を早く国民に示すのが政治の責任だ。

　◇技術は不完全

Another survey that the Mainichi conducted on the mayors of municipalities situated within 30 kilometers from the crippled nuclear plant in February has produced interesting results. Over half -- or 57 percent -- of the mayors surveyed support the resumption of operations at nuclear power stations stopped for regular inspections with some conditions attached.
　毎日新聞が２月に実施した、原発から半径３０キロ圏内に位置する自治体の首長へのアンケートでは興味深い結果が出た。定期検査で停止した原発の再稼働を「条件付きで認める」首長は５７％。

Still, 76 percent of them said they are in favor of less reliance on nuclear energy. Even the mayors of some municipalities that host nuclear plants and have received subsidies from the national government in return called for a decrease in the country's dependence on nuclear plants.
One of them, Hideo Kishimoto, mayor of the Saga Prefecture town of Genkai, which hosts Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Genkai Nuclear Power Plant, said in the survey, "Japan should decrease its reliance on nuclear power while going ahead with the technological development of renewable energy."
だが、そのうち７６％は脱・原発に賛意を示したのだ。原発を受け入れ、交付金などの恩恵を受けてきた自治体であっても「再生可能エネルギーの技術開発を進めながら原発の依存度を減らしていくべきだ」（岸本英雄・佐賀県玄海町長）などの声が上がったのだ。

A total of 60 percent of the people surveyed by the Mainichi in September 2011 said that the number of nuclear power stations should be decreased on a step-by-step basis over a long period of time. The figure rises to 72 percent if those who call for an early suspension of operations at nuclear plants are included. A majority of the Japanese public share the hope that nuclear plants should be decreased in the long run.
　一般の市民を対象にした昨年９月の毎日新聞の世論調査でもこの傾向は顕著だった。「時間をかけて原発を減らすべきだ」との回答が６０％を占め、「できるだけ早くすべて停止すべきだ」を合わせると７２％に達した。将来的には原発を減らしていきたいという思いは、今、多くの国民が共有している。

Until the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in March last year, I had believed, as a journalist who had covered issues relating to nuclear energy for many years, that nuclear power stations were indispensable for Japan, which is poor in natural resources.
　実は原発問題を長く担当してきた私自身、福島第１原発事故が起こるまで、使用済み核燃料の処分が決まらない問題を抱えてはいるものの、資源小国の日本にとって原発は必要だと考えていた。

I coolly responded when Germany shifted its policy toward getting rid of nuclear power plants in the late 1990s, believing that "it is possible because European countries can buy power from neighboring countries when they are short of power." Above all, I did not think that a catastrophic accident would ever happen at any nuclear power station in Japan.
９０年代末にドイツが脱原発に転じた時も「欧州では、足りない時は他の国から電気を買えるから可能なんだろう」と、冷ややかに見ていた。何より日本の原発がここまで壊滅的な事故を起こすとは思っていなかった。

However, my thoughts changed drastically as I observed irreparable damage to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and local communities through my coverage of the ongoing crisis.
　だが福島第１原発事故の取材を通じて、取り返しのつかない被害の大きさに触れ考えが変わった。

Nuclear power should be deemed as faulty technology as two extremely serious accidents occurred -- one at Chernobyl in 1986 and the other at Fukushima in 2011 -- and devastated local communities less than about a half century since nuclear plants were first put into commercial use.
実用化されて半世紀の間に、チェルノブイリ（８６年、旧ソ連）、福島と、２度にわたり地域社会を崩壊させる大事故を起こした原発は、やはり不完全な技術と言わざるを得ない。

Aging and dangerous reactors should be shut down first, and then all Japan's nuclear plants should be abolished in the long run.
老朽化したものや危険なものから止めていき、最終的にはなくすべきだ。

However, as many mayors pointed out in the Mainichi survey last month, it is indispensable to secure substitute energy sources to make up for a decrease in Japan's reliance on nuclear power. A shortage of electric power is a serious blow particularly to the socially vulnerable.
　ただし、アンケートで多くの首長が指摘したように、脱原発を進めるには代替電力の確保が不可欠だ。電力不足はまず社会的弱者を直撃する。

Following the outbreak of the crisis, escalators at railway stations and traffic lights stopped in the Tokyo metropolitan area because of efforts to save electric power consumption and rolling power blackouts occurred, causing trouble to the elderly and physically handicapped. If companies are forced to downsize their operations due to power shortages, non-regular workers will be the first to lose their jobs.
震災直後、計画停電や節電を強いられた首都圏で駅のエスカレーターや信号機などが止まり、高齢者や身体障害者が困っている姿を何度も見た。電力不足で企業活動が停滞すれば、非正規雇用の人たちが真っ先に解雇されるだろう。

The government, which has pledged to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power, should shift its energy policy toward developing renewable energy and energy-saving technologies. Moreover, it should clearly show how many years it will take before all nuclear plants are decommissioned as well as how electric power can be secured and what kind of lifestyles members of the public should adopt until that goal is achieved.
　「脱・原発依存」を掲げた政治がすべきことは、再生可能エネルギーや省エネ技術の研究開発に思い切ってかじを切ることではないか。そして、何年後なら原発をゼロにできるか、それまでは電力をどのように確保し、国民がどういう生活を送ることになるかを具体的に提示することだ。

　◇「責任感見えぬ」

However, the government appears to be hastily trying to reactivate nuclear reactors that have been suspended for regular inspections.
　だが、ここのところ政府には、原発の再稼働を急ごうとする姿勢ばかりが目立つ。

Currently, only two nuclear reactors are in operation in Japan, and all the nation's 54 reactors will have been stopped by as early as mid-May if none of those suspended for regular inspections are reactivated. As a precondition for resuming operations at nuclear reactors, the government demands that safety evaluations clearly show how far they can withstand larger than anticipated earthquakes and tsunami.
　国内の原発は次々と定期検査で止まり、現在稼働中なのは２基。このままいけば５月初めにも５４基すべてが停止する。政府は再稼働への関門として、想定を超えた地震や津波で炉心溶融が起きるまでにどの程度の余裕があるかを見る安全評価（ストレステスト）を義務づけた。

The government appears desperate. "Unless nuclear reactors are reactivated, it'll be inevitable that electric power charges will rise drastically," warns Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano.
手続きを急ぐため、簡便な「１次評価」で可としたが、目算通りにはいかず、メドは立っていない。「再稼働がなければ、電気料金が大幅に上がるのは必然」（枝野幸男経済産業相）など、閣内から焦りにも似た発言も出始めた。

Professor Hitoshi Yoshioka, vice president of Kyushu University who is an expert in nuclear power policy, says, "It's only natural that a majority of the members of the public are in favor of decreasing the country's reliance on nuclear energy for electricity supply, considering the massive damage caused by the nuclear crisis to Fukushima. Regardless of what kind of policy the government adopts, no progress can be made on any policy based on the promotion of nuclear power."
　原子力政策に詳しい吉岡斉・九州大副学長は「福島の被害を真剣に受け止めれば、国民の多くが脱原発を是とするのは当然。政府がどう決めようと、原発推進を前提とした政策は前に進まない」と指摘する。

Tatsuya Murakami, mayor of the Ibaraki Prefecture village of Tokai that hosts many nuclear facilities including a nuclear power plant, criticized the government and the power industry for lacking a sense of responsibility for the nuclear disaster.
"The Fukushima nuclear crisis is deep-rooted in Japan's distorted energy policy. The government and the nuclear industry do not appear to feel a sense of responsibility toward those who have lost their hometowns to the crisis," Murakami said in response to the Mainichi survey.
また、原発や原子力関連施設を抱える茨城県東海村の村上達也村長は、毎日新聞のアンケートにこう答える。
　「福島原発事故は（原発偏重など）、ゆがんだエネルギー政策が生んだものだ。故郷を喪失した者たちに、政府や業界は責任を感じているのか。全く見えない」

The government will adopt its new energy policy at the Energy and Environment Council comprised of Cabinet ministers concerned by this coming summer.
　政府は、関係閣僚らで作る「エネルギー・環境会議」で夏までに新たなエネルギー政策を決める。

One cannot help but wonder how the prime minister will respond to these opinions voiced by communities that host nuclear power stations, as well as members of the general public.
首相はこれらの意見に、どう答えるつもりなのだろうか。

The government's attempt to hastily reactivate nuclear reactors without clearly showing a path toward decreasing Japan's reliance on nuclear power stations runs counter to the will of the public.
脱原発への道筋を示さないまま目先の再稼働を急ぐのは、国民の意思に逆行していると思う。

（東京科学環境部）
("As I see it" by Taku Nishikawa, Tokyo Science and Environment News Department)
毎日新聞　2012年3月9日　1時45分（最終更新　3月9日　1時51分）