Japan has a relatively high amount of turnover in its government — just look at how many different prime ministers have led Japan over the last two decades — and its National Diet has a number of political groups represented. But despite that, I’m surprised to say that the country’s first green party has been launched. Called Greens Japan, it’s shooting to be legally recognized in time for Japan’s general elections next year.Greens Japan is a response to the controversial move to restart a pair of reactors following last year’s Fukushima disaster. It’s a also a rebuke of the two ruling parties, the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party, who are both pro-nuclear.From the _Guardian_’s coverage:Akira Miyabe, Greens Japan’s deputy leader, said voters had been deprived of the chance to support a party that puts nuclear abolition and other green policies at the top of its agenda. “We need a party that puts the environment first,” he said at a launch event in Tokyo.
The 1,000-member party is still a gathering of disparate groups and local politicians, but believes it can emulate green parties in Germany and other parts of Europe and influence the national debate over energy policy.
Nao Suguro, a co-leader of the party who sits on a local assembly in Tokyo, said the aim was “to create a broad network to accommodate calls for the abolition of nuclear power plants.”Those statements suggest that Greens Japan is going to be firmly anti-nuclear, focusing more on energy policy than broad environmental issues. Considering that Japan squeezes so many citizens onto so little land, and that those citizens are highly dependent on the fragile fisheries off the country’s coasts, I suppose that the fledgling party’s focus is slightly narrow. But then again, it is Japan’s first green party, and you have to start somewhere. So why not start with the most controversial topic in the country? It makes sense, especially after Japan’s rather rosy view of nuclear power has been shattered after 40 years of atom-splitting. Of course, that dependence also means that Greens Japan has one heck of a battle on its hands.Follow Derek Mead on Twitter: @derektmead.
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