TOKYO, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Most Japanese want to stop generating electricity with nuclear power, a poll by a government panel indicated.
Some 70 to 80 percent of those asked wanted to reduce the government's dependence on nuclear-generated power to zero or 15 percent by 2030, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
The panel, led by Motohisa Furukawa, state minister for national policy, will use the results of the poll to create a basic energy strategy for the country, possibly as early as September. That strategy will also look at how nuclear power will be used in the future.
The poll conducted by the panel offered three options about the percentage of the nation's electricity that should be generated by nuclear energy in the future: zero percent, 15 percent and 20 to 25 percent.
When the poll was taken and how many people were surveyed was not reported.
The panel said about half of the people polled were concerned about discontinuing nuclear power altogether. However, the panel said in a summary of the poll that the high interest in banning nuclear power indicated a serious distrust of the government and of the safety of nuclear facilities.
