EEE会議(日本の原子力に対する海外の批判）..............................................................031218


以前幾度かご紹介しましたように、小生が参加している米国のあるＥメール会議で、
京都産業大学の朴講師の論文（１２月６日付けメール参照）がきっかけになって、日
本の原子力問題が議論になっており、日本はなぜ原子力のような危険で金のかかるエ
ネルギーに固執するのか、もっと他に方法（水力、地熱など）があるのではないかと
いった意見が沢山出てきています。これに対して、小生が一生懸命原子力の重要性を
主張しているのですが、なかなか納得しません。もちろん中には無知、誤解に基く意
見もありますが、傾聴に値する意見もあります。結構外国人も日本のエネルギー問題
をよく勉強しているようです。
　
ご参考までに、最近小生が出したメールと、これに対する外国人の再反論をいくつか
ご披露します。何かお気づきの点などあれば至急ご教示ください。　明日（12/19)の
講演・研究会の際にもちょっとご相談したいと考えておりますので、よろしくお願い
いたします。
--KK

*************************************

＜金子の反論＞

A brief response to the postings of Messrs. E.H. Kinmonth and W.H.
Stonehill:

1.  Japan 's "dangerously high dependency on imported oil" means, needless
to mention, a dangerously high dependency on the oil imported from the
Middle East.  It is as high as almost 90 % of the oil we import annually,
higher than before the first Oil Crisis (1973-4).  The Azadegan oil project
in Iran and the Sakhalin oil/gas projects are another problems requiring our
urgent diplomatic and strategic consideration.  Incidentally, Japan's
indigenous oil deposit is virtually zero, at least economically meaningless.

2.  There are important differences in energy situation between Japan and
European countries. Germany has lot of coal to burn, Sweden can depend on
hydropower, Italy is buying the nuclear-generated electricity from France.
In fact, most of European countries are interconnected by common electric
grids, which is not the case with us countries in Northeast Asia.  Moreover,
some European countries, such as Finland, are promoting nuclear power;
Switzerland has  rejected the government's "Ohne Atom" policy in the recent
referendum.  Even Italy, which suffered bad electricity failure this summer,
is reviving its once-abandoned plan to build two nuclear power plants in
cooperation with France, according to the latest information we received.

3.  It is the well-established policy of the Japan Council on Energy,
Environment and Security, constituted as it is, to focus on the
international security and strategic aspects of energy and environment
issues.  Hence, relatively little emphasis on such technical issues as
renewable energies and conservation.  As regards the problems related to the
back-end of nuclear fuel cycle (i.e., cost of reprocessing,
thermal-recycling of plutonium, decommissioning, etc.), they are addressed
in our e-mail forum quite frequently.

Kumao Kaneko
President, Japan Council on Energy, Environment and Security,
Tokyo.

*************************************

＜再反論１＞

>1.  Japan 's "dangerously high dependency on imported oil" means,
>needless to mention, a dangerously high dependency on the oil imported
>from the Middle East.  It is as high as almost 90 % of the oil we import
>annually, higher than before the first Oil Crisis (1973-4).  The Azadegan
>oil project in Iran and the Sakhalin oil/gas projects are another
>problems requiring our urgent diplomatic and strategic consideration.
>Incidentally, Japan's indigenous oil deposit is virtually zero, at least
>economically meaningless.

 Far from being  "economically meaningless" Japanese oil and gas
contribute somewhere between 3% to 5% of Japan's energy requirements. Even
more importantly, the existence of these resources has given birth to
Japan's oil refinery industry and to a lesser degree, its chemical
industry, both of which are very important resources.
>
>
>2.  There are important differences in energy situation between Japan and
>European countries. Germany has lot of coal to burn, Sweden can depend on
>hydropower, Italy is buying the nuclear-generated electricity from
>France.  In fact, most of European countries are interconnected by common
>electric grids, which is not the case with us countries in Northeast
>Asia.

The failure of Japan to join East Asian energy grids has been up to now, a
failure of political will, not their non existence. At this point, the
Russian Far East has a 30% surplus in electrical generating capacity (that
is, they generate 30% more electricity than they can use) and they are
selling it to both North Korea, China and in negotiations to sell it to
South Korea also. With continuing Russian investment in energy projects,
this capacity can be expected to grow. Nor, are European electrical grids
"interconnected by common electric grids". This is simply not the case as
an entire summer of electrical blackouts in Europe should amply
demonstrate.

 Japan has rich resources of hydroelectric energy and thermal energy,
equal to  or exceeding any European country, both of which are under
utilized and under developed. This is not to mention also the great
potential that Japan has, and is developing, for alternative energy
resources

Basically we are seeing the same litany, so frequently repeated, of
Japanese exceptionalism. Japan's situation and resources are roughly
comparable to most European states. This, I believe is where any
discussion of Japanese energy problems (and potentials) should start from.

W.T.Stonehill

*****************************************

＜再反論２＞

>2.  There are important differences in energy situation between Japan and
>European countries. Germany has lot of coal to burn, Sweden can depend on
>hydropower

Japan has both coal and hydropower to say nothing of virtually unexploited
geothermal, wind, and tidal resources.

>3.  It is the well-established policy of the Japan Council on Energy,
>Environment and Security, constituted as it is, to focus on the
>international security and strategic aspects of energy and environment
>issues.  Hence, relatively little emphasis on such technical issues as
>renewable energies and conservation.

This is a non-sequitur.  Conservation and the exploitation of alternative
energy sources, by reducing the dependency on imported oil, are inherently
"strategic issues" just as cooperating with Russia in developing its fossil
energy resources would be a strategic offset to dependency on imports from
the middle east.

EHKinmonth