Renewable energy is important but can't replace nuclear power
At the summit meeting of the leaders of the Group of Eight nations that opened in Deauville, France, on Thursday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced Japan's new energy policy.
While expressing appreciation for other nations' support of Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake, he sent the world a message that he is determined to revitalize the country in the wake of the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. We believe it was an appropriate action.
Kan said the government, which decided on a basic energy policy last year, would wipe the slate clean and formulate a new policy to accelerate expanded utilization of renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind power.
In concrete terms, the government set a numerical goal of increasing renewable energy's share of the overall electric power supply to 20 percent "as early as possible in the 2020s."
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Is the 20% goal achievable?
Of Japan's total power supply, nuclear power provides about 30 percent, making it an undeniable pillar of the nation's economy. On the other hand, the share held by renewable sources of energy is about 9 percent.
Due to the nuclear crisis, it has become difficult to construct new nuclear power plants or add new reactors to existing plants. The government's aim of trying to find answers to the expected power shortage in the expanded use of renewable sources is understandable--to a certain degree.
However, the period for achieving the 20 percent share for renewable energy, a goal already stipulated in the basic energy policy, was abruptly advanced by about a decade. Kan did not mention any concrete measures to make such an acceleration possible.
The fundamental reason that renewable energy sources are not already in wide use is that they have problems with quality, quantity and cost. For example, development of wind power and geothermal energy is limited by severe restrictions on where facilities can be constructed.
As for solar power, considered the most promising renewable energy source, Kan spoke of a "dream" of promoting technological development to cut solar power generation costs to one-third their current level. He also revealed a plan to install solar panels on the roofs of 10 million homes.
However, these policy measures are based on the preconditions that drastic technological innovations are realized and that infrastructure such as easy-to-use power cable networks for homes and businesses is put in place. We should avoid inflated expectations on the matter.
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Realistic outlook necessary
At this juncture, it is necessary for resource-hungry Japan to maintain its economic might and set a firm course for restoration efforts. To do so, the most realistic option is, ultimately, to fully utilize nuclear power plants by making them safer.
Among participating nations at the G-8 summit, France is a promoter of nuclear power generation while the United States attaches importance to clean energy sources including nuclear power.
Although Germany has already moved toward "denuclearization," that country can purchase electricity anytime from France or elsewhere using the European continent's power transmission networks. The situation is different in Japan, an island nation for which importing electricity is not an option.
Countries of the world are now urged to seriously work on measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to fight global warming. On this point, nuclear power generation is still a promising energy source.
Japan should seek an energy policy most suitable to its own circumstances, combining oil and other fossil fuels with nuclear power--as well as renewable sources of energy.
Modernize methods of criminal investigation
An ideal criminal justice system would never fail to solve a case and would maintain order without proceeding on any false charges.
Justice Minister Satsuki Eda told his ministry's Legislative Council, an advisory panel, in mid-May to review the nation's criminal justice system. He decided to review the system because cracks began to show in its current investigation methods. For instance, Atsuko Muraki, a former senior official of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, was arrested in 2009 on charges of abusing a postal discount system, but was exonerated last year.
Issues to be discussed at the council will include legislation for "visualizing" interrogations by tape-recording and videotaping so that the investigation process can be studied later. We hope the council will uncover problems in the system and try to construct a judiciary that is abreast of the times.
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Flaw in current system
One characteristic of Japan's criminal justice system is that detaining and questioning a suspect to determine the truth is a major part of the investigation. Confession statements made in that process have so far served as strong evidence for judges to render guilty verdicts.
This can make prosecutors and police officers prone to maneuver or force suspects to tell what they want to hear so the suspect's statements suit the authorities' presumptions. This has been pointed out as a breeding ground for false convictions.
However, it is also a fact that prosecutors and police officers have a very limited number of investigation methods other than interrogations at their disposal. If it institutionalizes visualization of interrogations to increase their transparency, the Justice Ministry should also seriously consider introducing a variety of investigative methods used in the United States and other Western countries.
For instance, prosecutors and police officers in those countries are often allowed to wiretap communications of suspects while investigating cases of murder, arson and bribery. In many of these countries, they are also empowered to take DNA from suspects and convicts.
Plea bargains are another common tool in those countries. In plea bargaining, prosecutors and police officers can promise to seek lighter penalties if a suspect confesses to the charges against him, or they may give up prosecuting suspects who help in investigations by informing on accomplices or divulging other facts.
In Japan, however, most of those methods are not allowed. Wiretapping is permitted in very few cases, such as crimes related to weapons and drugs. In fact, only a very small number of cases have involved wiretapping in this country.
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Crimes more sophisticated
However, criminals have employed increasingly sophisticated methods in recent years. Gangs are becoming better organized. Recidivism rates are rising. We have to say that current investigative methods, dependent on interrogations, are becoming obsolete.
Prosecutors plan to test the visualization of interrogations for one year until next April. The special investigation unit of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office earlier this month began videotaping the entire process of questioning in a case related to an allegation of aggravated breach of trust. Results of these experiments must be reflected in discussions at the Legislative Council.
In its deliberations, the council also should consider the views of various people such as volunteer probation officers, who are engaged in the rehabilitation of parolees, in addition to crime victims and bereaved families.
The council also should develop an environment in which as many people as possible will become interested in discussions of the criminal justice system reform, by disclosing the minutes of its discussions to the public.
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