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The Mitsubishi
Monitor talks with Hideo
Suzuki, president of Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel.
Your company is a Japanese leader
in producing nuclear fuel. How much do you contribute
to fulfilling Japanese power needs?
We produce one-third of the
nuclear fuel used in Japan. Nuclear power furnishes
about 30% of Japan's electricity. So Japanese rely on
our products for 10% of the electricity they consume.
Do you expect nuclear power
to make a growing contribution to the world's energy
supplies?
I certainly believe that nuclear
power should make a growing contribution. One important
reason to use nuclear power is the need for curtailing
global warming. We need to reduce global output of carbon
dioxide--a greenhouse gas. Unlike power generation with
oil or coal, generating electricity with nuclear power
results in little output of CO2.
Another important reason to use nuclear
power pertains to resource conservation. The world is
running out of fossil fuels, like oil and coal. Nuclear
power can help us make those resources last longer.
It is immensely appealing from the perspective of optimizing
energy policy in a world of finite resources.
We have a responsibility to succeeding generations
to pass on a world still rich in natural resources.
Nuclear power can help us fulfill that responsibility.
People have concerns about
the safety of nuclear power. Is nuclear power safe?
Nuclear power can be as safe
as any other means of generating electricity. We abide
by rigorous safety guidelines, of course, but we also
do more. We take the initiative in developing new products
and technologies to help maximize safety. We spare no
cost and spare no effort in the pursuit of safe, reliable
electric power for people today and for future generations.
Equally important is the need for maintaining
good communication with the community. Full disclosure
is absolutely essential in winning people's trust. That
means being totally frank and open with all pertinent
information. It also means explaining things in simple,
straightforward language that is easy for everyone to
understand. We go out of our way to promote good dialogue
between our industry and the public.
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The president displays a one-third-scale model of
a fuel rod assembly for a nuclear power plant.
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Do you have exchanges with companies
outside Japan?
The U.S. company Westinghouse
was a shareholder when our company was established. And
we continue to exchange technology and ideas with that
company's successor, though it is no longer a shareholder.
Elsewhere, we helped lead the establishment of the International
Network for Safety Assurance of Fuel Cycle Industries.
That initiative is a joint undertaking by 11 producers
of nuclear fuel in six nations: Belgium, France, Japan,
the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United
States. The participating companies share information
about ways of ensuring safety throughout the sequence
of producing, using and reprocessing nuclear fuel.
You spent some 30 years in
Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry [now
the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry] before moving
to the private sector a few years ago. How has that experience
affected your perspective on business?
One
lesson was the importance of raising living standards
for people everywhere. I spent a lot of my career in managing
foreign aid programs. That included living abroad for
several years, mainly in Kenya. We in the industrialized
world tend to forget that numerous people in developing
nations lack basic necessities. We have a responsibility
to our fellow inhabitants of the earth to use resources
wisely and to share our technology and capital widely.
I am happy to note that nuclear power has a big role to
play in using resources wisely.
My experience in government also taught me
the value of eschewing a unilateral perspective on the
world. Everyone on earth stands to benefit from international
exchange--from a vigorous and multilateral interchange
of ideas, goods, capital, technology, people. Real international
exchange and genuine mutual understanding are only possible
when we honor differences in culture, language and religion.
What does being part of the
Mitsubishi community of companies mean to your company?
We benefit hugely from the strong,
positive identity that the Mitsubishi companies have built
over more than 130 years. We are grateful for that benefit,
and we strive to be worthy of the Mitsubishi name. On
the other hand, we and all the companies need to be careful
not to rely on the name alone. We each need to take responsibility
for building and maintaining our own business momentum.
That is, the Mitsubishi companies should share relationships
of mutual trust, not mutual dependence.
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