Japan will not abandon nuclear power: Prime Minister

Nuclear power will remain a key part of Japan's energy policy, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday, but the government will review oversight of the industry after the worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl. The premier said a special commission would investigate the crisis that unfolded after a monster tsunami knocked out the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's cooling systems on March 11, leading to reactor meltdowns and radiation leaking into the environment.
"The investigation commission on the accident, which will start meeting soon, should discuss the way Japan administers its nuclear policies," Kan said, adding that he hoped "to lay a basic direction for a thorough reform". But Kan backed the principle of nuclear power, telling reporters: "If we come up with new ways to use atomic power more safely... we will naturally utilise atomic power further. "In the first place a thorough review is needed. Everything should start from there."
Kan announced that reactors currently suspended for routine check-ups across the nation would be allowed to resume operations if they are deemed safe. But local opposition to restarting those reactors has grown since the disaster. The world's number three economy generates about 30 percent of its power from nuclear plants.
"Until now, Japan's energy policies were built with two major pillars of fossil fuel and nuclear power," Kan said. "In addition to that, we must add two more pillars of natural (renewable) energy and energy saving." Workers briefly entered a reactor building at the crippled Fukushima plant Wednesday to measure radiation levels and check for damage, the operator said.
The investigation was part of work by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) to bring reactors at the complex to a stable cold shutdown by January at the latest. TEPCO said on Tuesday it was on schedule despite signs that damage to the facility in Japan's quake-battered north-east was worse than initially thought. The earthquake and tsunami left nearly 25,000 people dead or missing and the government has moved to evacuate residents from villages outside the 20-kilometre exclusion zone around the ageing plant.