MadnessWhere is the safest place to build a nuclear power station, if there is such a thing?
How about countries which are earthquake prone?
Japan to support nuclear power in Asia amid soaring oil costs.
TOKYO (AFP): Japan plans to promote nuclear energy, which has been controversial at home, in other Asian nations such as Vietnam and Indonesia to help them diversify from oil, a trade ministry official said on Tuesday.
"We could help establish a system for nuclear power generation that should be in line with (global) nuclear non-proliferation and domestic laws in countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia," the official said.
Japan will dispatch experts to the two countries, which in turn will send officials here to study with the nuclear safety agency, said the official in the nuclear policy division.
As Indonesia and Vietnam plan to start generating nuclear power, "Japan wants to offer help for its peaceful, safe use," he said.
"It would also beneficial to Japan as it contributes to easing an energy crunch and reducing global warming," he said.
Japan had proposed earlier this year to help neighbor and growing rival China construct nuclear power plants, he added.
Japan depends on nuclear power for 30 percent of its energy needs but the figure is unlikely to grow sharply in the future as few towns are willing to host nuclear plants for fear of an accident and amid slack growth in electricity demand in the barely growing Japanese economy.
Japan's offer of assistance comes amid soaring oil prices triggered by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to the U.S. Gulf Coast (and the economic groweth of China and India!)
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Japan has been promoting eco-friendly industry as part of its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, the landmark treaty on global warming reached in Japan's ancient capital.
I agree that it's time to reduce our dependence on oil and Japan does not have alternative natural resources. But Indonesia is in the 'Ring of Fire'.
How about greater investment in geo-thermal energy?
Anything, surely, rather than an energy source which will need safe-guarding for at least a millenium.
The one positive thought I have from this news story is that there are very few people with long-term vision in this country; it's all about bandaid solutions. And nuclear power is certainly not that.
Or is it?
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