http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120528_27.html

Former PM calls for Japan to end nuclear power

Former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan says the nuclear accident at Fukushima convinced him that, for safety's sake, Japan must end its dependence on nuclear energy.

Kan on Monday attended a hearing of a panel appointed by the Diet to investigate the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that began on March 11th of last year.
He blamed the government for promoting nuclear power as a national policy. He apologized for failing to prevent the accident as the head of government at the time.

Kan said a nuclear safety agency said nothing about what would happen in such an accident, nor did the government receive information from other sources. He added that he feared the situation could get out of control.
Kan acknowledged that the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, consulted the government about evacuating plant workers.

He said that when the industry minister informed him of the workers' possible withdrawal, he thought it was out of the question.

Kan said that he told Tokyo Electric President Masataka Shimizu that the government would not allow the workers to leave, and Shimizu complied.

The former prime minister criticized what he calls an inner circle of nuclear policymakers, experts and businesses for trying to hold on to their power without doing any soul-searching after the accident.

He said disbanding the circle is the first step in a comprehensive reform of nuclear policy.

He also said the accident could have jeopardized state functions, and that he is convinced that the safest way forward for Japan is to end its nuclear power generation.

The panel plans to compile a report on its investigation by next month at the earliest, and submit it to the heads of both chambers of the Diet.

May 28, 2012 - Updated 10:23 UTC (19:23 JST)