Thorium Investments

Energy & Capital ^ | September 10, 2012 | Jeff Siegel

[2ndDivisionVet]

I told you what was going to happen.

I even reminded you back in July.

Japan is NOT giving up on nuclear.

The bottom line is that those with the purse strings to dictate policy want nuclear back. And that's exactly what they're getting.

The last time I told you about this, I wrote that a very powerful business lobby in Japan argued that businesses couldn't handle any possible disruptions in power output — particularly at a time when the economy is under such intense pressure.

It doesn't matter that Japan did survive peak summer and winter energy demand with little or no nuclear power online — because you need more than one year's worth of data to verify Japan can go on without nuclear.

Truth is I don't know if Japan could survive with or without nuclear. There's certainly a case to be made either way.

But at the end of the day, it all boils down to the gatekeepers at the top of the policy food chain. And no amount of student demonstrations will dissuade Japan's head honchos from firing up those nuclear power stations.

Politicians Love Wiggle Room

This week Japan will set a national energy policy.

And here's a shocker: Economics Minister Motohisa Furukawa told reporters the government had not taken any particular position regarding the role of nuclear power.

But here's where it gets interesting...

Until recently, the current government had been subtly suggesting it would set a date for eliminating nuclear power by 2030.

But just one week before the new national energy policy was set to be released, Furukawa said that the government is considering three options:

■ Reduce nuclear power to zero as soon as possible

■ Aim for 15% by 2030

■ Seek a 20%-25% percent share by 2030