Taro Kono softens line against nuclear power ahead of LDP leadership race

Taro Kono, Japan's digital transformation minister, has said he now believes that the country should facilitate the restart of idled nuclear power plants and promote research into nuclear fusion, in the face of a predicted rise in electricity demand. His remarks, made Wednesday, mark a further shift from Kono's initial position of seeking no nuclear plants in the country. He apparently hopes to gain broad support within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ahead of its upcoming leadership election, expected in September. Kono has already told LDP Vice President Taro Aso, head of an intraparty faction Kono belongs to, of his eagerness to run in the party's leadership race. However, his anti-nuclear stance has been criticized by veteran members of the Aso faction.