Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, Niigata, JapanIn a recently released white paper, Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission failed to emphasize the role nuclear power needs to play in order to ensure a stable supply of electric power in the country. Electric power that the nation desperately needs as another hot summer is about to start, and pushing the existing power generation plants to their limits.

It’s been proven time and again that, despite the obvious risks, nuclear power generation is one of the best options available for nations with few options with hydro-electricity. It is also quite difficult to cut emissions of carbon dioxide that are said to be responsible for global warming without splitting the atom. Now, more than ever, the role of nuclear power needs to be widely understood.

The White Paper on Nuclear Energy (Japanese Only) is released annually in Japan and typically features a special section on key issues and provides information regarding federal initiatives from the standpoint of the development and usage of nuclear power. However, this year’s report provides only a simple overview of situations concerning nuclear power both at home and abroad. The commission is supposed to be the nation’s control center for nuclear power generation policy, but has seemingly given up its duty to promote the importance of such technologies.As of this writing, there is little chance of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata starting up any of its 7 reactors, all of which were ordered shut down in the wake of a powerful earthquake in July of 2007. There is also no talk concerning the safe and effective disposal of high-level radioactive waste produced as a byproduct of the nuclear power generation process.

Clean, Yet Dirty

Problems relating to nuclear power generation are accumulating. Given this situation, it’s even more important for the Atomic Energy Commission to take a strong lead and work to solve these problems. Japanese ingenuity is a remarkable thing and, if they can solve the problems associated with this virtually carbonless source of power, the world could begin to replace the filthy coal-based plants with safe and clean atomic-based generators.

Countries all over the world are paying keen attention to the efficiency of the new generations of nuclear power plants, whose generating capacity is huge, while virtually no CO2 is released into the atmosphere.

Plans for construction of more generators have been gaining considerable momentum both rapidly and widely. Around the globe, there are approximately 435 nuclear reactors in use. This number is expected to jump to just over 800 by 2040.

Another report was written by a panel of experts set up by the commission to present possible applications of nuclear power in the future. The report suggested using this technology part of the effort to combat global warming, and even went so far as to list key measures to support the construction of nuclear power plants in developing nations as well as promoting innovations in the existing designs.

Apparently, It Can Wait

Although the Atomic Energy Commission was the group that had requested the forward-looking report, the annual white paper only briefly touched on the matter, and completely ignored the measures listed within. It almost seems as though nuclear power has been converted to a topic of discussion rather than a viable component of the government’s policy priorities.

In January, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda gave a speech on global warming at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, but made no mention of nuclear energy as a potential replacement for coal or oil-based power plants.

Some industry leaders are concerned that the issues regarding this form of electricity generation will not be on the agenda at the upcoming G8 meeting this coming June. The meeting will take place in Aomori Prefecture, where there are several nuclear-related facilities, including a reprocessing plant for spent fuel rods.

Although clean energy sources like solar and wind will be discussed, we can’t forget about other options which are better suited to feed our unquenchable thirst for electricity.