Reply #3: "A society that depends on nuclear energy is just like a house of cards" [View All]

[kristopher]

A tsunami triggered by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake not only destroyed towns and ports in northeastern Honshu, but also demonstrated various problems involving Japan's post-war energy policy.

The nuclear power policy that the government had disguised as rock-solid has actually proved so vulnerable. Prosperity built around such a policy is fragile. This has illustrated a wide perception gap between people on the seriousness of the crisis.

Even though people are calling for solidarity and collective efforts to overcome the disaster, nobody apparently has the impression that the groundwork has been laid for the restoration of Japan.

<snip>

The crisis has clarified that a society that depends heavily on electricity generated largely by nuclear power plants -- which Japan as a post-war economic and technological superpower has achieved -- is just like a house of cards. Japanese leaders as well as members of the general public should be aware of this.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110409p2a00m0na001000c.html


This is from today's Mainichi Shimbun. The discussion is just starting about where Japan goes from here; we should all be watching closely.

Thank you for the interesting reference.