Tokyo governor election turning into referendum on nuclear policy

So why doesn't Koizumi just go ahead and run himself? He'd kick butt, I think, and would be less likely to find himself constantly steamrolled and circumvented by the Metropolitan assembly, which has something of a mind of its own.

No Nukes!

Will Koizumi try to make a run for PM again if Hosokawa wins the Mayorship?

The results of this election will reveal just how much the Japanese public in Tokyo has matured and if they are ready to start taking responsibility for their previously blind faith in the stories of political, corporate and media elites and for an excessively energy-consumptive lifestyle.

If they do elect a post-nuclear campaigner, then they'll have to watch him carefully and keep up the pressure so his rhetoric is actually turned into action.

May he win and put a further spanner in the works. More popular protests and resistance is coming as shinzo abe's house of cards come tumbling down. Banzaai!

Two former Prime Ministers (Koizumi and Hosokawa) have responded to the voice of the people to shed light on the Fukushima crisis. So assuming you learned some lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake, it's that there is no place for a nuclear power plant in this land of earthquakes (earthquake prone Japan).

Sure it is. Just like the election for mayor of Nago was going to nix the US base move. Who are they kidding?

I've said it before, japan has the chance to become a world leader in renewable energy, but prefer to hang in to antiquated ideals for the of 'saving face'. Nuclear energy will always remain a thorn in Japan's side simply because of the huge costs involved in cleaning up that 'man-made' disaster in Fukushima. The recent developments in solar power make it both affordable and efficient to introduce on a large scale. Of course, it cannot be be a sole source of energy, but if all the roofs of apartment blocks were plastered with solar cells it would cut Japan's dependence on fossil and nuclear fuels to needing them as back up systems only. Japan is supposed to be a rich country. It's a shame their intelligence didn't mature with their financial dividends.

This election is the election of Tokyo-to (not Tokyo City). It is Governorship Election. (not municipal).

Renewable energy in USA. There are Wikipedia articles about where renewable energy has been implemented successfully. California in USA is about the size of Japan. So, maybe read the article about Solar Energy in Calif or maybe Solar Energy in PA,etc to see how nuclear power plants are replaced in the outside of Japan. Sunshine is free. Compare construction cost of Solar Energy plant and Nuclear Energy plant. Nuclear Energy had been antiquated topics for quite many years.

No nuke!

I really hope they give us permanent residents the right to vote in municipal elections soon! I want to vote for this guy, no more nukes! Don't care if it means paying 10-20% more on my electricity bill.

So, maybe read the article about Solar Energy in Calif or maybe Solar Energy in PA,etc to see how nuclear power plants are replaced in the outside of Japan. Sunshine is free. Compare construction cost of Solar Energy plant and Nuclear Energy plant. Nuclear Energy had been antiquated topics for quite many years.

Mind explaining how you intent to use solar energy as a baseline power source? Converting solar energy into chemical energy (batteries) and then back into electricity is extremely inefficient, at least with current technology. The only baseline power sources that are viable in Japan are:

a. Coal b. Natural Gas c. Nuclear energy

Pick your poison. I choose next generation nuclear energy, ideally thorium reactors.

Sunshine became electricity source. Never heard sunshine is converted to chemical material. Just paying less utility cost now.

Sunshine became electricity source. Never heard sunshine is converted to chemical material. Just paying less utility cost now.

And where are you getting your electricity from at night or when it's overcast outside? Either from energy stored in some other form, typically chemical in nature (batteries), or from a coal/natural gas/nuclear energy plant that supplies baseline power to the electrical grid.

Solar power in the United States includes utility-scale solar power plants as well as local distributed generation, mostly from rooftop photovoltaics. In mid-2013, the U.S. passed 10 GW of installed photovoltaic capacity with an additional 0.5 GW of concentrated solar power. In the twelve months through October 2013, utility scale solar power generated 8.46 million megawatt-hours, 0.21% of total US electricity The largest solar power installation in the world is the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California, which has a total capacity of 354 megawatts (MW).

The United States conducted much early research in photovoltaics and concentrated solar power. The U.S. is among the top countries in the world in electricity generated by the Sun and several of the world's largest utility-scale installations are located in the desert Southwest. There are plans to build many other large solar plants in the United States. While the U.S. has no national energy policy, many states have set individual renewable energy goals with solar power being included in various proportions. Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring California's utilities to obtain 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the end of 2020 A total of 4,324 MW of utility scale solar power plants are under construction and an additional 25,926 MW are under development, with 19,060 MW under construction or development in California.

The use of solar water heating and solar area heating is less common in the U.S. than in some other countries

Above is a partial copy from Wikipedia. Because power companies are involved, night or bad weather do not matter. However, our area in USA use Mohave desert solar energy plants. Some people have own rooftop solar panels. During daytime, it accumulate solar energy on Sanyo created solar paned I did not go on that but these people do not pay to utility company. We subscrive utility company's electricity. Our state do not have nuclear energy plant, anyway.