politics

TEPCO shares slump after anti-nuclear candidate wins Niigata election

18 Comments
By Kentaro Hamada

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18 Comments
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When Obama planned to ship nuclear waste to northern Nevada, too many opposition in StTe that many states abolished nuclear poser plant. Ma y states switched to solar energy. Lucky to Cal.if. It found SolR energy 'pioneers that include Mitsubishi nd Sanyo .

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"TEPCO will apply lessons learned from Fukushima..."

Clearly TEPCO learned nothing. They are STILL saying things are under control.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

So Mass media didn't mention in detail the risk to Japan after the 2007 earthquake that smashed the Nigata NPP, which was the first earthquake I experienced. Still off line some reactors. How did he win? Interesting...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

GOOD!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Not to worry pro-nuclear people, i'm sure Yoneyama will somehow soon find himself caught up in a scandal, discredited and forced to resign.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Guess I missed this part of the article, "Niigata voters opposed restarting the plant by 73% to 27%, according to an NHK exit poll."

3 ( +3 / -0 )

After all the mishaps and mismanagement at TEPCO they still have stock? wow!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Are Abe-san and his pro-nuclear friends in the Liberal Democratic Party listening? I doubt it. But this might put a damper on Abe's awaited decision to call an upper house election early next year. Let's see how other local elections turn out in upcoming polls ...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Here's the full story and not the edited condensed version above. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-election-idUSKBN12G0HM?il=0

It would be interesting to see exit polls to find out if this was the primary issue which drove this guy winning. If it is one could say "the people have spoken"

Fear wins votes , it would be more interesting to find out if Yoneyama had shares in a Mega Farm

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It will be interesting to see what happens here.

My thoughts are that the feed in tariffs were just way to high to start with (Around 51Yen/KWh?). I think the feed in tariff should be reduced slightly and the development of alternative sources of power (solar, wind, etc.) should be encouraged. Japan has been liberalizing access to the grid (most recent took effect in April) so it seems they are making all the right steps.

Kashiwazaki Kariwa (specifically units 6 and 7) are ABWR reactors. These are much more modern and with an extra level of redundancy relative to standards designs. I would think a good compromise would be only allowing the restart of these 2 for a certain period of time. TEPCO can then do the math and see if it is worth restarting these based on stated terms. Most or all other plants in Japan should be further scrutinized.

Nuclear now is more of an economic issue rather than supply issue. If the Yen gets weak and/or fuel prices increase then it is a major economic issue for Japan. It has been shown that from a pure supply point of view Japan can survive without the nuclear plants and the issue is more economic. Also if Japan wants to meet the carbon emissions goals it is setting forth nuclear may be needed as a "bridge" until enough alternative sources are developed.

It would be interesting to see exit polls to find out if this was the primary issue which drove this guy winning. If it is one could say "the people have spoken"

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Harry_Gatto: Has Niigata (or Japan) been going without power fo the last five years?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Did Yoneyama propose his own alternative energy policy or show support for any other credible alternative energy source?

-11 ( +1 / -12 )

Bravo!

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I would support nuclear power if it were properly managed. All of the coastal nuclear power plants in Japan still face the same catastrophe as Fukushima. Yeah, they have built sea walls, but the 2011 quake showed they don't work with one of the towns that had an 8m sea wall sank by a meter in the quake rendering the wall useless. There is also the main issue of back up generators being at ground level and still susceptible to failure in a flooding event and the electrical systems that support them have not been waterproofed. If these issues were addressed I would support nuclear power, but as it stands now, another 'unprecedented' earthquake and tsunami will result in another 'unprecedented' catastrophe. Let's hope this anti-nuclear governor will get things changed before he gives in to the pro-nuke cronies.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Encouraging development, but I`m afraid he's likely to be thwarted at every turn by the bureaucracy, who hold the reins of power... and how can a country with the same political party in power for 60 years call itself a "democracy"?

11 ( +12 / -1 )

Great news!! Note that Japan is FULL of engineering and science perfectly capable of making Niigata and other prefectures continue to go nuclear free

14 ( +15 / -1 )

Abe's energy policy ? Actually, the feed-in tariff for solar has been curtailed year on year as it was, according to reports 'too successful' The meaning of which, in a country with nuclear disasters just waiting to happen, escapes me completely. Abe's policy is mired in the politics of corruption and backward looking........

14 ( +14 / -1 )

Nice! What Abe needs more than ANYTHING else is some competition!

13 ( +14 / -1 )

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