Mainichi.jp/english | 2013 Oct. 14
...The recently published book "Genpatsu whiteout" (nuclear power whiteout) by an elite bureaucrat going by the pseudonym Retsu Wakasugi, exposes the nuclear power industry in novel format.
Based on the author's broad familiarity with energy policy, the book is likely a product of defiance by a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry with a senior post, at minimum, of division director. Consider, also, the recent rebellion against the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. There may still be a strong pro-nuclear population, but there is a deep fissure running within the government and ruling party that is causing waves.
In the month since the book came out, it has undergone four printings and sold 50,000 copies...
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...Wakasugi does not call for the abolition of nuclear power, but does an excellent job of pointing out the weaknesses in the pro-nuclear argument. In particular, by examining how vulnerable we are to terrorist attacks targeting nuclear facilities, the book deftly highlights the fallacy of the assumption that the "peaceful use of nuclear energy" bears no risks.
The mere collapse of transmission relay towers can cause nuclear reactor meltdowns. Calls to protect such relay towers were heard soon after the onset of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011. Utilities have responded through measures that include keeping power grid confidential, while leaving the more than 1,000 relay towers that are connected to nuclear reactors unprotected.
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