Nuclear power back in favor as Japan starts energy debate

According to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, nuclear power could play an essential role for the country that could last for decades.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's month-old government let a panel of experts begin debate on Japan's energy policy on Monday, but Noda has already signaled that nuclear power could play a role for decades, says Reuters' report.

Six months after an earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima plant, which is still leaking radiation, critics say powerful pro-nuclear interests are quietly fighting back.

"It's been a real bad year for the 'nuclear village' but I don't think they are down and out," said Jeffrey Kingston, Director of Asian Studies at Temple University's Japan campus, referring to the utilities, lawmakers and regulators who long promoted atomic power as safe, clean and cheap.

Public concern about safety leapt after the Fukushima accident, which forced 80,000 people from their homes and sparked fears about food and water supply. Some 70 percent of voters polled in July backed Kan's call to phase out nuclear plants.

A series of scandals in which regulators and power companies tried to sway hearings on reactors has also dented public trust.

Noda has acknowledged that public safety concerns will make it tough to build new reactors, but on Friday stopped short of saying atomic power would play no role at all by 2050. He said decisions on reactors already under construction would have to be made "case-by-case."

The panel is led by the chairman of steel industry giant Nippon Steel Corp, a heavy user of electricity and considered partial to nuclear power, but also includes those opposed to atomic energy.

Read the full report here.