.JPG%3Fwidth%3D780%26fit%3Dcover%26gravity%3Dfaces%26dpr%3D2%26quality%3Dmedium%26source%3Dnar-cms%26format%3Dauto&w=3840&q=100)
Japan's nuclear power aims likely to continue despite LDP election loss
Some opposition parties support restarting or modernizing reactors
Plans to restart a nuclear power plant in Japan's Niigata prefecture have had trouble gaining local consent. (Photo by Konosuke Urata)
RIHO NAGAO
TOKYO -- Japanese government efforts to promote nuclear energy are expected to continue even after the ruling coalition's loss of its majority in the upper house election Sunday, with a number of opposition parties expressing support for restarting reactors or building new ones.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito favor restarting nuclear power plants whose safety has been confirmed. The LDP has also promoted the replacement of existing plants with safer next-generation plants.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
US says Japan to buy $8 billion in American farm, food products
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japan will purchase $8 billion in U.S. farm and food goods, such as corn, soybeans, fertilizer and bioethanol, under a new trade deal, the White House said Wednesday. A day after the United States and Japan reached the agreement, the White House provided more details of its terms, stating that Washington's key ally will also increase purchases of U.S.-made commercial aircraft, including 100 Boeing planes, and defense equipment worth "additional billions of dollars annually." After rounds of negotiations, the deal, which sharply lowered U.S. tariffs on imported Japanese cars and other goods to 15 percent, was sealed Tuesday before the expiry of the Trump administration's pause on hefty country-specific levies on Aug. 1. For the administration, the biggest gain was Japan's commitment to investing $550 billion in the United States, particularly with funds to be directed to sectors deemed strategic, ranging from semiconductors and pharmaceuticals to energy infrastructure and critical minerals. The White House highlighted that the deal represents what it called the "single largest foreign investment commitment ever secured by any country." It touted the agreement as a "strategic realignment of the U.S.-Japan economic relationship" that will advance the mutual interests of both countries. As part of the deal, Japan has also promised to expand the portion of rice imports from the United States under the World Trade Organization's "minimum access" quota system. Without providing details, the White House said Japan will immediately increase imports of U.S. rice by 75 percent, accompanied by a "major expansion" of quotas. Currently, Japan imports about 770,000 tons of tariff-free rice a year under the WTO framework, with the United States the No. 1 exporter, accounting for nearly half of the total, followed by Thailand and Australia. Of the amount, up to 100,000 tons is imported for direct consumption. Most of the remainder is used for animal feed and processing into other food products. Any rice imported to Japan beyond the special quota is subject to a tariff of 341 yen ($2.3) per kilogram. In fiscal 2024, the United States shipped roughly 346,000 tons of rice to Japan, compared with 286,000 tons exported by Thailand and 70,000 tons by Australia, under the quota system, according to Japan's farm ministry. For Japan, rice, its main staple food, is politically sensitive given that rice farmers have long been a key constituency of the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Japanese officials have said the deal does not involve Japan lowering tariffs on farm products and that expanding the portion of American rice under the special quota would have no significant impact on its domestic rice market. While appearing on Fox News on Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked how the Trump administration plans to make sure Japan complies with its commitments. Bessent said it will check the extent of Japan's compliance every quarter and "if the president is unhappy, then they will boomerang back to the 25 percent tariff rates, both on cars and the rest of their products." Throughout the bilateral negotiations, one of Japan's prime concerns was scrapping or reducing Trump's additional auto tariff, which he raised by 25 percentage points to 27.5 percent in April. At an event in Washington, Trump said he cut his so-called reciprocal tariff rate for Japan to 15 percent from 25 percent because Tokyo had agreed "for the first time ever to open up its country to trade so that all of our American businesses and business go out and do business openly and freely." While describing Japanese negotiators as tough, he said Japan is a "wonderful" country. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the centerpiece of the deal with Japan is its commitment to $550 billion in investment to revitalize American industries. She told a press briefing that Japan's initial commitment was $400 billion in investment, but Trump negotiated and realized an increase of $150 billion.
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
US, EU Trade Talks Bolstered by Trump's Agreement with Japan
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) – The European Union and the U.S. are moving toward a trade deal that could include a 15% U.S. baseline tariff on EU goods and possible exemptions, two European diplomats said on Wednesday, potentially moving President Donald Trump closer to another major trade agreement on the heels of the one he just unveiled with Japan. European negotiators were hoping to reach an agreement to dodge the 30% tariff rate Trump has said he would impose on imports from the 27-nation bloc on August 1. The rate, which could also extend to cars, would mirror the framework agreement the U.S. has struck with Japan, which Trump announced late on Tuesday. There could be concessions for sectors like aircraft and lumber as well as some medicines and agricultural products, which would not face tariffs, the diplomats said. Washington does not, however, appear willing to lower its current 50% tariff on steel, they said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro told Bloomberg News the report from the EU should be taken with 'a grain of salt.' As talks continued, the European Commission said it would press on with potential counter-measures in case a deal was not reached. EU member states were set to vote on 93 billion euros of counter-tariffs on U.S. goods on Thursday, European diplomats said. A broad majority of members support using anti-coercion instruments if there is no deal, they said. Trump was aiming to secure an agreement on the heels of a complicated deal reached with Japan, the largest foreign investor in the U.S. That deal included a $550 investment and loan pledges from Japan and its commitment to buy 100 Boeing airplanes and boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products. That investment – to be spent at Trump's discretion – would focus on key industries like energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding, the White House said on Wednesday. Tariffs on Japan's auto sector will drop from 27.5% to 15% as part of the agreement, reviving hopes for similar treatment for European cars. Asian and European stock markets rallied as investors cheered the U.S.-Japan agreement, but U.S. stocks showed a more modest rise and earnings reports were gloomy. American businesses making everything from chips to steel reported downbeat results on Wednesday, revealing how the Trump administration's chaotic trade policy has hurt profits, added to costs, upended supply chains and weighed on consumer confidence. U.S. automakers signaled their unhappiness with the Japan deal, raising concerns about a trade regime that cuts tariffs on Japanese auto imports while leaving 25% tariffs on imports from their plants and suppliers in Canada and Mexico. 'Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers,' said Matt Blunt, the president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents General Motors GM.N, Ford F.N and Chrysler parent Stellantis CAR TARIFFS Automobile stocks led the climb of European shares after the Japan deal spurred hopes that the U.S. was budging over tariffs on EU cars. EU officials have previously said Washington has shown little sign of doing so. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that Japan received the 15% rate on auto tariffs 'because they were willing to provide this innovative financing mechanism' that he did not think other countries could replicate. Trump, however, has appeared open to a range of options as the U.S. negotiates trade deals. 'I will only lower tariffs if a country agrees to open its market,' Trump wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. The Republican president said late on Tuesday that other countries would be coming to Washington for talks this week. Governments were scrambling to close trade deals before next week's deadline that the White House has repeatedly pushed back under pressure from markets and intense lobbying by industry. U.S. and Chinese officials plan to meet in Stockholm next week to discuss extending an August 12 deadline for negotiating a trade deal. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday would not discuss expectations for the meeting, but said Bessent 'looks forward to continuing discussions with his Chinese counterparts.'
The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Man acquitted of 1966 murder case to file damages suit vs Japan gov't
SHIZUOKA (Kyodo) -- Iwao Hakamada, who was acquitted in a retrial over a 1966 murder case in Shizuoka Prefecture, plans to file a damages suit against the Japanese government and the prefecture over fabricated evidence by investigative authorities, his legal team said Wednesday. His lawyers said at a press conference they plan to file the suit around the anniversary of the Shizuoka District Court's Sept. 26 acquittal of Hakamada, 89, in the murder of four members of a family. They have not decided the amount of damages they will seek. Hakamada's acquittal was finalized last October, ending his family's decades-long fight to free him from death row. The court found that investigative authorities had fabricated evidence in the case. The court ordered the government to pay him around 217 million yen ($1.5 million) in criminal compensation in March, saying that the fabrication served as the "basis" for determining the amount. The presiding judge said Hakamada spent about 33 of his years in detention under a death sentence, causing him to suffer "extremely severe" mental and physical pain. In a separate suit to be filed on Aug. 18, the legal team plans to seek around 5 million yen in damages for defamation over Prosecutor General Naomi Unemoto's remark that the acquittal ruling was unacceptable, saying the decision "contains numerous problems in its reasoning."
