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Potential & Potential & Obstacles (3): Hesitation

Published on August 29, 2019: The Denki Shimbun (The Electric Daily News)
Shojiro Matsuura
Advisor

At the JAIF Annual Conference last April, numerous broad-ranging, profound and promising possibilities and prospects were presented for utilizing nuclear energy in the future in line with the conference’s theme “Tapping the Full Potential of Nuclear Energy.” Nuclear energy has both energy applications (power generation) and non-energy applications (diverse industrial, agricultural, medical, scientific and technological uses that do not involve power generation). Considering our past social circumstances, when one talks about using nuclear energy, the first idea that generally comes to mind is inevitably nuclear power generation. However, at this conference, there was much discussion again about the potential non-energy applications.

As the Atomic Energy Commission also frequently pointed out, it is highly desirable for the general public to possess a better understanding of nuclear energy other than for producing power. In fact, the non-energy applications have steadily expanded and are even expected to play a significant role in scientific and technological innovation in the future. At present, there does not appear to be any sort of obstacle to society’s acceptance of these non-energy applications.

This may be due to a general lack of awareness of other ways that nuclear energy is put into use. For example, most regular smart phone users have likely never dreamed that neutron transmutation doping and radiation lithography are key technologies used in the phone’s design and manufacture as well as production of key electronic components.

Similarly, a fact most people are generally not cognizant of is that the economic effect in Japan of the energy applications and non-energy applications of nuclear energy use was almost equal around the year 2000. Two professional surveys were conducted by the former Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (the Takasaki Advanced Radiation Research Institute), and came to the same conclusion as the survey conducted in the United States at about the same time period. This economic effect was likely still valid through 2010.

Although the economic effect experienced by society is still at the same high level, the reality is that a significant variance has emerged in terms of social acceptability of these two types of applications.

Eight years have now passed since the Fukushima accident. Time has callously moved forward while our entire society wavers about whether to use nuclear energy for supplying power. Japanese society is akin to the “boiling frog.”

After the Fukushima accident, it was the German government that was first to decide early on to abandon the use of nuclear power for energy to the extent feasible. As an alternative energy source, they adopted a large quantity of renewable energy. There has been plentiful press coverage showing this shift to be an apparent success, but recent economic statistics show the country struggling under the unanticipated stringency this change has wrought. One cannot help but listen to the old adage that “one should learn from other’s mistakes.”

Authoritative sources have also continuously admonished us that “the use of nuclear energy for supplying power is unavoidable for realizing a decarbonized society.” In response, the trend has been toward developing small and medium-sized modular reactors with the catchphrase of enhanced safety, which are close to becoming a reality.

Our nation should immediately quit hesitating and resolve to use nuclear power. The first hope would be for members of the Japan’s Diet to make this decision, but, as they are contemplating election in our current social situation, it would probably be difficult for them to clearly declare such intent. That being the case, it would then be best to leave it to faithful citizens with high ideals about the application of nuclear energy for power (such as scholars, researchers, professional engineers, community residents, journalists, ordinary citizens and others) to launch the first arrow inaugurating this movement.

End