JAPAN: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard gives to support Japan and rules out nuclear energy as a source for the future

Record ID: 464223

  • Title: JAPAN: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard gives to support Japan and rules out nuclear energy as a source for the future
  • Date: 23rd April 2011
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (APRIL 22, 2011) (REUTERS) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER, JULIA GILLARD, ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE GILLARD GIVING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER, JULIA GILLARD, SAYING: "One of the things I wanted to do by physically coming to Japan was to say through my personal presence that Australia is with you, with the Japanese people at this very difficult time, and I wanted to therefore personally take my greetings and expressions of good will to the most affected regions." GILLARD GIVING NEWS CONFERENCE AUDIENCE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER, JULIA GILLARD, SAYING: "We do not have nuclear energy, and we do not plan for it to be a part of Australia's future energy mix. We are a country that has abundant energy resources and we are very focused now on the clean energy sources of the future." GILLARD STANDING UP TO LEAVE NEWS CONFERENCE GILLARD LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 8th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA5OKO1IKWZ059UEY5R5668VB2B
  • Story Text: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave a news conference in Tokyo on Friday (April 22) and talked about giving support to the Japanese people and Australia's future energy mix.
    "One of the things I wanted to do by physically coming to Japan was to say through my personal presence that Australia is with you, with the Japanese people at this very difficult time, and I wanted to therefore personally take my greetings and expressions of good will to the most affected regions," Gillard told reporters during the news conference.
    Gillard, who arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday (April 20) on the first leg of her East Asia tour, has given assurances of energy support to Japan.
    Japan is keen to secure additional energy sources, especially liquefied natural gas (LNG), to compensate for reduced power due to its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
    Operator of the Daiichi plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), has already ramped up LNG consumption, buying a record volume in March.
    Japan is also faced with a massive reconstruction programme which will take years and require secure energy. Analysts say Japan's long-term energy demand will further drive Australia's current massive A$200 billion LNG capacity build up.
    Gillard, keen on raking in energy business from Japan, said that Australia does not plan to use nuclear energy, but instead would focus on developing clean energy sources of the future.
    "We do not have nuclear energy, and we do not plan for it to be a part of Australia's future energy mix. We are a country that has abundant energy resources and we are very focused now on the clean energy sources of the future," she said.
    Gillard, on her four-day visit to Japan, was also scheduled to visit the disaster-hit north on Saturday (April 23).
    She will visit Seoul from April 23 to 25, where free trade talks are most advanced, but experts say the FTA negotiations are not close enough to expect a major announcement.
    Climate policy and human rights are likely to be key issues along with trade during her visit to Beijing from April 25 to 27.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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