(Japan) Nuclear power industry's deceptiveness appalling

[kristopher]

From the Asahi Shimbun

It's worth the click.

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107080297.html

Nuclear power industry's deceptiveness appalling

"Sakura" is Japanese for cherry blossoms. But the word also means a shill, although its origin is unclear. According to a Japanese dictionary, "sakura" was presumably slang that became widely used among street hawkers of yore who relied on "plants" to dupe unsuspecting customers into snapping up and overpaying for their wares.

I wonder what jargon is spoken in Japan's electric power industry. An executive of Kyushu Electric Power Co. (Kyuden) was found to have urged the utility's subsidiaries and others to send "sakura e-mails" in favor of resuming operations of reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, in response to a TV program that explained the situation to local residents.

<snip>

...Cutting one's foot to fit the shoe is an example of perverse determination. The nuclear power industry has distorted facts and kept the truth hidden in an attempt to maintain the "safety myth." And given that Kyuden tried to manipulate public opinion, the industry's deceptiveness is truly appalling.

Radiation is not the only menace of the nuclear power generation. The late physicist Jinzaburo Takagi (1938-2000), who consistently opposed nuclear power generation, once wrote: "The construction of just one nuclear power plant kills all other (power generation) options. The investment of massive capital subjugates the local economy, creating a mammoth centralized 'energy society' whether we like it or not."

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107080297.html


Some background if you haven't been paying attention.

Insider blew whistle on Kyushu Electric TV stunt
Kyodo

A scandal in which Kyushu Electric Power Co. tried to make local residents appear supportive of restarting the utility's nuclear reactors by having staff send emails during a ministry-sponsored event was brought to light by an in-house whistle-blower, a member of the Saga Prefectural Assembly and others said Saturday.

The assembly member also said that a senior official in the prefectural government knew just before the event that the utility was plotting such a scheme but did nothing to prevent it.

Akemi Muto, an assembly member from the Japanese Communist Party, said she obtained a written document containing the contents of the emails sent by a Kyushu Electric employee to other employees and subsidiaries June 25.

In the emails, the employee asked people to post comments supporting the resumption of the reactors during the event held to win over locals. It was broadcast live on cable TV and streamed live on the Internet...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110709x2.html

[kristopher]

1. See also

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x303367