CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Suzuki, Masahiro |
|---|---|
| Title | Adherence to the Past or Hope for the Future?: The historical development of Japan's energy politics and its implications for future nuclear policy |
| Summary | Japan’s nuclear policy gained the attention of both domestic and international scholars after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. Three years later, in April 2014, the LDP, the political party in power, released the latest energy policy aiming to re-start nuclear power plants despite the increasing opposition against it among other political parties, media, and the public. Many scholars discuss the necessity of nuclear power in Japan from economic and environmental perspectives of energy. They also identify that the interlocking relationship between bureaucracy and business in nuclear power is the reason behind Japan’s adherence to it. However, there is insufficient understanding of Japan’s specific drivers of energy policy and of the historic emergence and progression of this relationship that promoted its nuclear dependence. Therefore, this thesis seeks to understand why Japan still adheres to nuclear power even after Fukushima. By developing and applying a framework to conduct a historical analysis, this thesis offers insight into how the nation’s energy politics developed in the last nine decades. This research identified that the interlocking relationship that has promoted nuclear power has its origin in the era of WWII and was strengthened by politicizing energy security threats over time. The ideology of energy independence also contributed to the increasing reliance on nuclear power. There is a change in Japan’s energy politics observed after Fukushima and an increasing number of the public began to participate in the nation’s energy debates, which shows a potential future paradigm shift in the nation’s energy policy. |
| Supervisor | Cherp, Aleh |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/suzuki_masahiro.pdf |
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