Japan Plans To Promote Nuke Program (complete article)

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

I am providing the entire article here. A result of the infamous 
"from" problem.

Thursday October 28 6:50 AM ET 

Japan Plans To Promote Nuke Program  

TOKYO (AP) - Weeks after Japan's worst nuclear accident, government 
officials said Thursday that they will step up efforts to win support 
for the nation's nuclear power program.  

"From" November, the ministry will hold seminars around the country 
to explain the virtues of nuclear energy to the public, said Yasuo 
Baba, an official at the Ministry of International Trade and 
Industry.   

``We need to increase public understanding of nuclear energy, as it 
is the government's firm position to continue using nuclear power as 
a principal source of energy,'' Baba said.  

Japan's nuclear power program came under heavy fire after a Sept. 30 
leak at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant left at least 69 people 
exposed to radiation and forced hundreds of thousands of people 
living near the plant to remain indoors for more than a day.  

Anger has centered on the slipshod safety practices at the nuclear 
facility. The government has been criticized for failing to discover 
that JCO Co., the plant's operator, had allegedly been flouting 
operating guidelines for years.  

As part of the government's promotional program, two-day seminars 
will be held in about 12 different cities across Japan. Most cities 
have been chosen because they are close to nuclear power facilities, 
MITI's Baba said.  

The program will target academics, schoolteachers, and journalists, 
as well as members of the general public. The ministry wants to 
arrange visits to some of the nuclear plants, Baba said.  

Japan gets about a third of its energy from nuclear power. The nation 
has 51 nuclear reactors, and the government hopes to increase that 
substantially over the next decade.  

Baba said the timing of the seminars was unrelated to the accident.  

``The seminars were definitely not planned because of Tokaimura. 
Discussions about having these seminars have taken place since the 
end of last year,'' Baba said.  

Still, he added, ``there is a greater need to increase public 
understanding because of the accident.''  

Proponents of the nuclear energy program agree the government should 
do more.  

``What the government has been doing to promote nuclear power is 
clearly not enough,'' said Masaaki Kuwabara of the Japan Atomic 
Energy Relations Organization, a foundation funded by 30 corporate 
members, including nuclear power operators.  

``We need to make sure the public has the right information, and is  
not simply moved by fear,'' Kuwabara said.

Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/scperle

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html