Seiji Maehara: Japan Has Obligation to Export Safe Nuke Plants

because the world values the safety of Japanese-made nuke plants. (Which "world" in which dimension is he talking about?)

It looks like he is another "space alien" politician. Might as well, as he made his name during the "space alien" Hatoyama administration.

Spreading the radioactive lumber from disaster-affected area using the "eco-point" system is not enough for him. He has to spread the gospel of wonderful world of nuke and resulting wonderful world of decontamination to the developing nations throughout the world.

Part from Asahi Shinbun (9/21/2011):

　民主党の前原誠司政策調査会長は２１日、朝日新聞などのインタビューに応じ、「日本の原発の安全性に対する信頼は揺らいでいない。輸出はしっかりやるべきだ」と述べ、野田政権でも原発輸出を引き続き推進する考えを示した。

Seiji Maehara, chairman of the policy bureau of the Democratic Party of Japan, was interviewed by reporters on September 21. Maehara said, "The trust in the safety of the Japanese-made nuclear power plants hasn't diminished. We must continue the export", indicating the Noda administration's plan to continue to promote the export of nuclear power plants from Japan.

　前原氏は菅内閣の外相当時、ベトナムなどへの原発輸出を進めた。東京電力福島第一原発の事故を踏まえ、「より安全性を高める機運は高まっている。事故の原因究明、再発防止策でしっかりと技術を高め、世界に広げる責務がある」と指摘した。

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs under the previous Kan administration, Maehara was instrumental in exporting nuclear power plants to countries like Vietnam. After the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident, Maehara pointed out, "It's a good timing to pursue higher degrees of safety. We have an obligation to enhance our nuclear technology by investigating the cause of the accident and establishing measures to prevent the accident from happening again, and to spread the technology worldwide".

It sounds like part of instructions he may have received from his US counterparts earlier in September when he visited the US. On that occasion, he also expressed the Noda administration's intention to consider arms export from Japan, among other hawkish comments concerning Japan's Self Defense Force. PM Noda followed that up with his UN address by saying Japan would continue to need nuclear power.

Maehara was the one hyped as the next leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (and thus the next prime minister of Japan) during the leadership election with supposedly the highest approval rating among the Japanese. (Or so said Yomiuri Shinbun at that time.)

In my opinion, the Japanese anti-nuke protesters should focus their attack. Instead of shouting slogans like "anti-nuke" or "beyond nuke" or "post nuke"; they should say "Prime Minster Noda, stop nuclear plants in Japan and do not promote the Japanese nuke industry with our tax money", "Mr. Maehara, you do not represent our views and you don't even have a public office other than as the Representative from Kyoto in the Lower House. Please shut up."

The chairman of the policy bureau of the Democratic Party of Japan is just that, a party position, not the government position.

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