The Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant's latest issues may hinder Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic reform plans.
The Japanese prime minister has been trying to make a return to nuclear power in an attempt to lower energy prices. Unfortunately, as previously reported, a storage tank containing radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant leaked Tuesday. It is said that 300 tons of radioactive water seeped into the soil.
Bloomberg reports that leak comes just as Abe is preparing for a trip to the Middle East on nuclear energy. The worry is that the latest setback might interfere with his plans to restart some of the country’s atomic plants.
The prime minister had hope to restart the plants and increase the sales tax to spur economic growth and lower energy imports. Jeff Kingston, a professor in Japanese politics at Temple University’s Tokyo campus, commented that “Abe’s getting to the hard stuff of structural reform and deciding whether to increase taxes.”
“Revving up the reactors is crucial to Abenomics.”
Reports also surfaced that the Tokyo Electric Power Co. had been advised to tighten water-management procedures at Fukushima, Businessweek reports. The advisory panel said that in July, it had a “less than friendly” meeting with company officials over the issue.
“We were disappointed that they weren’t more forthcoming in communication,” the panel chairman, Dale Klein said about an earlier leak into a tunnel. “They really do need to stop going from crisis to crisis and have a systematic approach to water management. “
On Wednesday, TEPCO officials conceded that they were struggling to contain radioactive water leaks at Fukushima.
image: Wikimedia Commons
