(Interviews, METI officials, fall 2002). By maintaining that the nuclear power plant siting
process is a purely voluntary one, devoid of obvious state coercion, authorities hope to better
draw in support from rural communities. To date, the state has never attempted to expropriate
land for nuclear power plants.
The scare at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in 1979 reduced already drooping public
support for nuclear power, and the government responded by regularly increasing the subsidies
allocated to local communities. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP, Japan’s long dominant
conservative party) also became involved in more actively sponsoring nuclear siting, establishing
a “Power Source Siting Promotion Headquarters” in 1979 and visiting various communities to
emphasize the financial rewards of accepting in nuclear plants (Nihon Genshiryoku Sangyō Kaigi
Vol. 3 1981: 35). MITI created a hortatory program in the mid 1980s to reward local government
officials who had supported their efforts at siting through the Dengen ricchi sokushin kōrōsha
hyōshō, or Citation Ceremony for Electric Power Sources Siting Promoters occurs yearly, which
takes place in July (Keizai Sangyō shō shigen enerugi chō 2001). At the ceremony the winners
come to Tokyo to meet with the Prime Minister at his residence and receive their rewards directly
from him in front of national media outlets (Asahi Shinbun 28 July 2000, 27 July 1989, 28 July
1988, 28 July 1987, 31 July 1986).
Between its creation in 1974 and 2004, ANRE deepened the institutions of Dengen Sanpō
in three ways: lengthening the amount of time during which subsidies are available, increasing
the amount of money provided to host communities, and expanding the targets on which such
grants can be spent to include “soft” projects. See Figure 1 for a graphical depiction of these
changes over time.
[Figure 1 about here]
9
Convention