日本民意希望繼續依賴核電

Recently the Asahi News reported the following:
朝日新聞社が１６、１７日に実施した全国定例世論調査（電話）で原子力発電の今後について聞いたところ、「減らす方がよい」と「やめるべきだ」が計４１％だった。東日本大震災の復興財源にあてるための増税については「賛成」５９％が「反対」３１％を上回った。

　「原子力発電は今後どうしたらよいか」という質問で四つの選択肢から選んでもらうと、「増やす方がよい」５％、「現状程度にとどめる」５１％、「減らす方がよい」３０％、「やめるべきだ」１１％。日本は電力の３割を原子力発電でまかなっていると紹介したうえで同様の質問をした２００７年の調査では、「増やす」１３％、「現状程度」５３％、「減らす」２１％、「やめる」７％で、「減らす」と「やめる」の合計が２８％にとどまっていた。
　原子力発電の利用の賛否は「賛成」５０％、「反対」３２％。「反対」の層でも、原子力発電の今後について２０％が「現状程度にとどめる」と答えた。男女別では、男性で「賛成」６２％、「反対」２７％だったのに対し、女性では３８％対３７％でほぼ並んだ。
　福島第一原発の事故に対しては、「大いに」５６％、「ある程度」３３％の合わせて８９％が「不安を感じている」と答えた。
　他の原発で大きな事故が起きる不安については、「大いに感じる」が５０％、「ある程度感じる」が３８％。「大いに感じる」と答えた人のなかでは、原子力発電を今後、「減らす」「やめる」と答えた人の合計が５５％と高い。
　復興財源のための増税に賛成する意見は、民主支持層で６６％と高かったが、無党派層で５９％、自民支持層でも５３％に上った。復興の主な財源として増税と国債のどちらがよいか尋ねると、「増税」４８％、「国債」２５％だった。
(試譯文)
On the 16th and 17th the Asahi Shinbun carried out a Nationwide regular public opinion poll (by telephone) to ask about the future of the nuclear power, in total 41% said that "You should decrease it" and "It is necessary to stop it". About using tax increase as the fiscal resources for the recovery after the East Japan great earthquake, 59% was "In agreement", higher then the 31% "In opposition".

When asked "What should be done regarding nuclear power generation in future" and to reply choosing from four answers, 5% chose "You should increase it", 51% "Stop it at the current level", 30% "You should decrease it", 11% "It is necessary to stop it". Compared to the investigation done in 2007 with similar questions and with the explanation that 30 % of the electricity was generated by nuclear power, 13% had said "Increased it", 53% "Keep at current level", 21% "Decrease it", 7% "Stop it"; the total of "Decrease it" and "Stop it" stood at 28%.

On the approval or disapproval for the use of nuclear power generation, 50% was "In agreement", 32% was "In opposite". Among those in opposition, 20% answered that in future the nuclear power generation should "Stop at the current level". By sex, in men it was 62% "In agreement" and 27% "In opposition"; in women correspondingly it was 38% to 37%, which was almost equal. Regarding the accident happened at the number one nuclear plant in Fukushima, in total 89% ("Very much" 56% and "To some degree" 33%) answered that they "Feel insecurity". When asked about was there any uneasy feeling over the happening of big accidents in other nuclear power plants, 38% "Feel it to some degree", 50% "Feel uneasiness very much". Among those people who said feeling uneasy very much, those who answered that in future the nuclear power generation should "Be decreased" and "Be stopped" stood high at 55% in total. The opinion that agreed with a tax increase as a fiscal resource for recovery, it reached 59% among Non-aligned voters and 53% in the Liberal-Democratic Party; Democratic supporters was at a high of 66%. When it was asked whether taxation increase, or government bond was the good major fiscal resource for recovery, 48% was for "Tax increase", and 25% for "Government bond".


Even after the accident at the number one nuclear plant in Fukushima, over half of the Japanese still want to depend on the nuclear plants for electricity.