Aomori governor's win boosting trust in nuclear safety
Voters in Sunday's Aomori gubernatorial election gave the incumbent a mandate to continue cooperating with the central government in developing nuclear power as long as good safety measures are secured.
Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura was reelected for a third term with the backing of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito. During his campaign, the incumbent told voters that he would accept new nuclear power facility construction projects--but with conditions attached.
Mimura overwhelmingly defeated two challengers, including Takashi Yamauchi, a newcomer supported by the Democratic Party of Japan and the People's New Party.
Aomori Prefecture is among the areas damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The series of accidents at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has sparked growing concerns among residents of Aomori Prefecture, as the Shimokita Peninsula in the prefecture is home to a large number of nuclear facilities.
As things stand today, the No. 1 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Higashidori power plant is the only one at work in the prefecture. However, four other reactors are being planned or built in the prefecture, meaning Aomori is the prefecture with the largest number of reactors under contemplation or construction.
In the wake of an aftershock that struck in April, the Higashidori plant was temporarily cut off from an external power supply. Operations at a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkashomura in the prefecture are another source of concern.
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Nuclear-oriented race
Given all this, the three candidates for the Aomori governorship had good reason to debate their nuclear power policies as a major point of the election.
During his campaign, Mimura insisted on "no nuclear power generation without safety." In pledging to accomplish this aim, the governor expressed his determination to dispel public anxiety by setting up an expert panel tasked with inspecting safeguard measures implemented by nuclear facility operators.
Mimura's reelection may well be perceived as an expression of popular support for more than his accomplishments during his two terms and eight years in office. Local voters appear to have supported Mimura's down-to-earth approach to nuclear power issues, including his emphasis on safeguard measures. His main challenger, Yamauchi, called for a freeze on reactor construction plans, but did not receive sufficient support from voters.
Sunday's election came after four similar races contested since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The incumbents, who accepted continued operation of nuclear facilities in their jurisdictions, were reelected in gubernatorial elections in Hokkaido, Fukui, Shimane and Saga prefectures--all home to nuclear power plants--although their positions on nuclear power generation were not regarded as decisive issues in those races.
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Shift in public opinion
It is disturbing to note that people in all parts of the nation have been increasingly distrustful of the safety of nuclear power generation since all reactors at Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Hamaoka nuclear power station in Shizuoka Prefecture were suspended in response to a request from Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
The government and all power utilities must hurry to review their current nuclear safety measures while also steadily implementing them.
Measures should be taken to reexamine the current system for evacuating residents from the vicinity of a nuclear power plant in the event of an accident. It is necessary to create an environment conducive to success in smoothly restarting reactors after regularly scheduled inspections.
The DPJ has suffered repeated setbacks in recent local elections. The ruling party's electoral losses can be blamed on missteps by the Kan administration and the political turmoil they have caused.
Many people believe the Kan government is incapable of working to contain the ongoing nuclear crisis while also digging quake-hit areas out of the rubble.
This is evident in the results of a Yomiuri Shimbun survey taken at the end of last week. An overwhelming 73 percent of those polled said the government could not be praised for its response to the nuclear disaster, with 64 percent saying they did not highly rate the administration's post-quake reconstruction efforts.
These figures indicate voters' stern view of the DPJ is contributing to the ruling party's setbacks in the local elections.
Nagoya tourney must be 1st step for JSA reform
The Japan Sumo Association has decided to hold the Grand Nagoya Sumo Tournament as scheduled starting on July 10.
The JSA was forced to cancel its March Spring Grand Tournament and May Summer Grand Tournament over a match-fixing scandal. The Nagoya tourney will be the first grand tournament since the New Year Grand Tournament in January. We want sumo wrestlers to give performances that will not betray the expectations of patient fans.
As a set of three conditions for resuming the grand tournament, JSA Chairman Hanaregoma cited a full elucidation of the bout-fixing scandal, punishment of the wrestlers involved and thorough implementation of measures to prevent a recurrence.
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25 bad apples
A special investigation committee, including lawyers, determined that 25 sumo wrestlers and elders were involved in match-fixing, based on the testimony of wrestlers and elders who admitted to the practice. The JSA imposed punishments on these 25 people, including recommendation of retirement.
The summer tournament was replaced by a Technical Examination Tournament for which no admission was charged and the JSA tried to prevent match-fixing from being repeated. Stablemasters or elder wrestlers were assigned to wrestlers' dressing rooms to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. Wrestlers were banned from bringing cell phones into the Ryogoku Kokugikan, the arena where the examination tourney was held.
In the Technical Examination Tournament, all bouts were said to be conducted without raising any suspicion of being fixed. If the JSA measures proved successful, they must be continued.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, which has jurisdiction over the JSA, showed understanding of the JSA's decision to hold the Nagoya tournament as scheduled. NHK has decided to resume live coverage of the tournament.
The JSA's decision to hold the Nagoya tourney might be accepted favorably by most fans.
But it would be premature to conclude that all the problems have been rooted out.
In its final report, the special investigation panel pointed out the possibility that match-fixing existed in the past, saying, "Bout-fixing was not the brainchild of the wrestlers punished this time." But the panel did not discover evidence to pinpoint specific bout-rigging cases.
Match-fixing was often suspected, but no effective measures were taken, the report says, determining that "successive chairmen of the association must take grave responsibility for the failure."
The JSA must weigh such criticism heavily and make constant efforts to prevent a recurrence of match-fixing.
As a major task to be tackled in the future in addition to bout-fixing, the JSA will promote reform of the sumo world in its entirety to clean up old evils.
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Scrutinize elder shares
The most problematic issue in that regard is how to deal with the JSA's elder shares, which must be obtained by a retired wrestler to remain in the JSA. The transfers of such shares are conducted in too opaque a manner and involve huge amounts of money.
The JSA reportedly plans to put together improvement measures on elder shares around this autumn.
How vigorously will the JSA wield the ax of reform? Its determination to rejuvenate itself is being put to the test.
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