(Mainichi: February 19, 2015 – p. 5)

 During party representatives’ interpellation at a plenary session of the House of Councillors on Feb. 18, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated that he will push forward with the reactivation of nuclear power plants in line with the government policy, by saying, “In order to realize an energy policy responsible for protecting the people’s livelihoods and industrial activities, we can’t readily decide to have zero nuclear plants based only on the results of an opinion poll.”

 Abe was replying to a question by Kota Matsuda, who heads the Assembly to Energize Japan, a small parliamentary group. Matsuda asked Abe, “According to the results of a public opinion poll in January by the Mainichi Shimbun, 54% of respondents (in Kagoshima Prefecture) opposed the resumption of reactors at Sendai Nuclear Power Plant. What do you think of the fact that a majority of the people in every public opinion poll oppose the idea of reactivating nuclear power plants?” In connection with the level of importance of local agreement, which has become a prerequisite for restarting nuclear plants, Abe stated: “Since each region has its own situation, it is important for the government not to make decisions uniformly, but to respond while consulting with regional governments.”