Japan ‘still committed’ to nuclear power

JAPANESE officials said they were committed to nuclear power despite calls from the prime minister for a plant to close.

However, the officials admitted that the target of obtaining half of Japan’s electricity from nuclear power by 2030 needed a rethink.

Prime minister Naoto Kan called for the closure of a nuclear plant in central Japan, citing the risk of another disastrous quake after the Fukushima Daiichi plant, in the north-east of the country, was destroyed by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Nearly 26,000 people were killed or are still missing in the region and the plant is still leaking radiation.