Noda's meeting with anti-nuclear camp gets mixed reviews from media

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's first face-to-face meeting with anti-nuclear protestors

It should also be noted that he is the first prime minister to meet with such protestors.

received mixed reviews Thursday, with some media saying it only served to highlight an unbridgeable gap.

Now whose fault would that be. I'll give you a clue: individuals who loosely represent a protest movement that offers no realistic alternative policy nor any mention of associated costs, but rather just chant shut it down, shut it down now.

Noda only saying Japan was working on phasing out dependence on nuclear power in the mid to long-term

I'm glad to see dependence is now tacked on to the words "phasing out".

"The prime minister's decision (to restart nuclear reactors) averted a critical power shortage," the Yomiuri said in its editorial. "The government must continue with a realistic energy policy."

Here here.

A further 48 functioning reactors remain mothballed.

What a waste! . I dont think 30 minutes meeting is enough though..

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/26/us-climate-germany-solar-idUSBRE84P0FI20120526

The above link talks about "German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said." "The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022. "................................ Japan has only used one nuclear power plant this summer. It is obvious that most nuclear power plants are not needed. Japan could build and start using solar and geothermal power in less than 5 years if they could make decisions as quick as Germany did.

What were they expecting? Were they hoping that the nuclear plant were just going to shut down tomorrow? In this heat? We (here in Japan) are consuming about 85% to 94% power during the day and about 50% during the night. How do they expect to cool their homes? These people don't think clearly.

Kwbrow2: if only japan was such a decisive country...

The Yomiuri Shimbun dismissed the sit-down, saying the issue had been extensively discussed in parliament, at news conferences and at public hearings.

LOL. No need for Japan Inc. to actually hear from the people, they have already decided what is best for them. My gosh, even the world's seond worst nuclear disaster, that has set the country back for decades, cannot bring change. I think Japan is doomed to continue to repeat its mistakes.

"We (here in Japan) are consuming about 85% to 94% power during the day and about 50% during the night."

Right. With only two of 54 reactors generating. And no problems. No blackouts. Here's what a bloke who makes money from building nuclear power plants has to say: ""They're finding more gas all the time. It's just hard to justify nuclear. Gas is so cheap and at some point, economics rule," the newspaper quoted GE CEO Jeff Immelt as saying in an interview on Monday…"It's really a gas and wind world today," said Immelt, referring to two sources of electricity he said most countries were shifting towards as natural gas became "permanently cheap". http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/30/us-energy-power-nuclear-shale-idUSBRE86T0AX20120730

At least Noda had the guts to meet these protesters face-to-face. As said by Daijoboots above, he was the first (and, thus, only) prime minister to do such a thing. How about all those prime ministers in the past? They merely ran away from the issues ...

I think Japan is doomed to continue to repeat its mistakes.

I'm sorry, and what would they be again?

Let's re-read the sentence you have decided to quote.

The Yomiuri Shimbun dismissed the sit-down, saying the issue had been extensively discussed in parliament, at news conferences and at public hearings.

Public sentiment is incorporated into the first two, and, as the name suggests, the public was present and participated in the public hearings, which included viewpoints from those for and against, as opposed to a one-way barrage from a rabid mob interested not in economic or other reality but only their own fulfilment.

The Yomiuri, which has long argued that Japan needs nuclear energy to power the world’s third largest economy, said the government and the protesters would never reach a compromise.

Yomiuri said in its editorial. “The government must continue with a realistic energy policy.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yomiuri_Shimbun

Just remember the Yomiuri is for a extreme right winger audience in Japan.

I am sure you recall how a CEO of Yomiuri Giants refused to conserve energy after the 3/11, remeber that?

If you are against Nuke energy program, then boycott all Yomiuri holdings including Yomiuri Giants. That simple. They will go down in the tube.

.

"The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022. "................................ J

Interesting.

The Germans are taking 11 years to get to no nuclear. People on this board think that Japan should be able to do it overnight, criticising the government on the one hand whilst applauding the Germans on the other.