Japan Diet OKs Nuclear Pacts with Turkey, UAE

Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--Japan's House of Councillors approved bilateral treaties Friday that will enable the country to export nuclear plants to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, marking the Diet's full endorsement of the agreements. The treaties were supported by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, and by the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan. Nuclear plant exports are among the key measures in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic growth strategy. Teruhiko Mashiko, DPJ vice president and representative of the Fukushima Prefecture constituency in the Upper House, who is calling for an end to the use of nuclear energy, bucked the party line and abstained from the votes. After the Upper House meeting, Mashiko told reporters that he made the decision in protest. He said he could not vote in favor of the treaties as required by his party, given the current situation in the prefecture, which is suffering due to the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 power station. Among other DPJ members in the Upper House, Yoshifu Arita and Eri Tokunaga were absent from the meeting, both claiming to be ill. On Tuesday, the DPJ dismissed two House of Representatives members from party posts because they left the Lower House floor before the votes on the nuclear treaties on April 4. The DPJ also admonished other members who were absent from the Lower House session, including former Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Some DPJ members are frustrated with the party's decision to vote in favor of the nuclear agreements despite its policy of ending Japan's reliance on nuclear energy in the 2030s. END