» [Mainichi Newspaper] LDP talks on nuclear power

2014/12/02

The 12-day campaign period for the Dec. 14 House of Representatives election has officially kicked off. The Mainichi Shimbun recently talked to leaders of Japan’s political parties on their basic policies and will carry a series of special articles based on their interviews before the campaign period. Below is an outline of comments from ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary-General Sadakazu Tanigaki.

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Our party has been pushing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s key economic policies, dubbed “Abenomics,” to stop decade-long deflation and create a positive growth cycle. Since the LDP returned to power, jobs have been created for some 1 million people. The ratio of job offers to job seeks has improved in all 47 prefectures of the country, and the average wage growth topped 2 percent at annual labor-management negotiations this past spring. Many companies have enjoyed record-high profits. We are promoting Abenomics as the only way towards economic recovery.

Stable supply of energy is also an important issue. We have to mull over what would be the “best mix” (of power sources). We have not changed our goal to reduce Japan’s dependence on nuclear power while seeking the possibility of renewable energy, but such a goal cannot be achieved right away. It is necessary to restart nuclear power plants that have passed safety checkups while we work to win support from local residents.
<Media Report>
LDP bigwig Tanigaki stresses benefits of ‘Abenomics,’ says nuke power ‘necessary’ (Mainichi Newspaper)

Tags:news, politicians, restart of nuclear reactors

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