62% of Japanese firms call on government to ditch coal plans

But a third said cutting off coal power would harm their businesses.

Sixty-two percent of Japanese firms urge the government to curb coal-fired power projects, whilst 20% said coal plans should be ditched altogether - although a third said it would harm their business, a poll by Reuters found.

A manager at a manufacturer said, "I don't think we should give it up immediately, but Japan must clarify its energy policy in the way that will reduce environmental burdens in the medium to long term."

Backers of coal-fired power argued that a resource-poor Japan has no choice but to stick with coal plans for the time being, the survey showed.

"Critics merely base their argument against coal-fired power on their outdated technology that emits CO2. Such a cry that lacks objective and scientific viewpoints is nothing but 'environmental fascism', which is even dangerous," a wholesaler manager wrote.

A third of the Japanese firms that said abandoning coal plans would harm their business raised the issue of electricity bills and squeezing profits.

"It could increase electricity costs and sacrifice the stability of power supply to a degree, but these can be technically resolved eventually," a machinery maker manager wrote in the survey.

Whilst 60% saw no impact at all from abandoning coal, the remainder expected it to bring positive effects.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet approved a plan last year to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, including support for hydrogen and carbon capture technology but made no mention of coal financing.

The Reuters Corporate Survey was conducted from 25 December to 10 January by Nikkei Research and canvassed 502 big and midsize non-financial companies. Roughly half of them answered questions on coal plans on condition of anonymity to express opinions freely.