JAPAN’S NEW ENERGY POLICY

GOVT NEEDS ECONOMY-FRIENDLY ENERGY POLICY

Junichi Abe

Yomiuri Shimbun, July 2, 2011

There is growing worry over whether the nation's power supply will be able to recover from the impact of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

It appears inevitable that electricity fees will be raised, even if a sufficient supply of power is secured. This means that the very foundation of Japan's economic growth has begun to shake.

Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) Chairman Hiromasa Yonekura has said: "Due to surging energy costs, [the government's] new economic growth strategy is becoming an empty slogan. And companies will have to move their operations overseas."

Yasuchika Hasegawa, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, forecasts a similar reality: "Our concern is power supply next year and afterward. Unless the state takes responsibility for it, companies cannot even compile business plans. This may accelerate an exodus of companies from the nation."

One after another, top officials in business lobbies expressed a sense of urgency over the unfolding situation and even expressed concerns that the nation's industries could be hollowed out.

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