President Ma Ying-jeou says Taiwan is closely watching the future development of Japan’s nuclear energy policy. Ma was speaking on Thursday while meeting with the former Director-General of Japan’s Environment Agency, Wakako Hironaka.
Ma said Taiwan and Japan have a lot of similarities. He said both countries rely on energy imports, are located on earthquake-prone areas and have independent power grids.
Ma said Japan was originally going to call a stop to the use of nuclear energy in the country. But after rigorous inspections, some of the nuclear plants will resume operation. Ma said he is closely following the future development of Japan’s energy policy.
"[Japan’s] Nuclear Regulation Authority has agreed that if the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant’s Reactor 1 and 2 in Kyushu’s Kagoshima Prefecture were to pass inspection, they might resume operation this fall," said Ma. "We are very curious as to whether more closed nuclear plants will be given permission to operate again," he said.
Nuclear energy is a contentious issue in Taiwan. Many people are calling on the government to scrap a fourth nuclear power plant, saying that it is located on an earthquake-prone area and dangerous.