80% Japanese want nuclear phase-out, says poll

Eighty per cent of Japanese want to phase out the country’s reliance on nuclear power and eventually eliminate it, a poll said on Sunday, a year after Japan was hit by a massive nuclear disaster.

Eighty per cent of Japanese want to phase out the country’s reliance on nuclear power and eventually eliminate it, a poll said on Sunday, a year after Japan was hit by a massive nuclear disaster.

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The survey conducted among 3,000 voters showed 80% support the idea of ending nuclear power while 16% are opposed to it, said the survey published by the Tokyo Shimbun.

But 53% would allow idled nuclear reactors to be restarted as far as electricity demand required as a realistic short-term approach, said the survey that was conducted by the Japan Association for Public Opinion Research comprising major Japanese newspapers.

Since last year’s accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the country’s commercial nuclear power plants have been undergoing safety inspections with just two out of 54 reactors currently online.

Japanese business circles fear power shortages could slow an already limping economy, but residents near existing plants are against the early resumption of idled reactors, some filing lawsuits seeking injunctions to block the process.

Despite the government’s declaration that the Fukushima plant had been brought to a stable state, 92% are worried about it, the survey said.