Almost three-quarters of Japanese respondents to a newspaper poll published Tuesday favour a gradual phase-out of nuclear energy in the wake of the Fukushima atomic accident.

The Asahi Shimbun daily said in its weekend opinion poll that only 14 percent were against such a gradual reduction.

The poll also showed 64 percent of respondents believed "natural energy" such as wind and solar power would replace nuclear power in the future, while 24 percent said they did not think so.

The Fukushima nuclear plant, on the northeastern coast facing the Pacific, has leaked radiation since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled cooling systems at the plant, leading to reactor meltdowns.

The worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from their houses, businesses and farms in a 20-kilometre (12-mile) radius around the plant.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced a full review of energy policy, including plans for more reactors, and a push to boost renewables to at least 20 percent of the electricity supply by the 2020s.

The Asahi telephone survey was carried out Saturday and Sunday, covering 3,394 voters across the nation, with 58 percent giving valid responses.

earlier related report
Berlusconi trounced in Italy referendums
Rome (AFP) June 14, 2011 - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suffered a trouncing in referendums Monday that wiped out his plans to return Italy to nuclear power and dismissed a law designed to keep him out of court.

The results, following hard on disastrous local election results, have already provoked a growing unease from his supporters.

Final results showed crushing votes of more than 90 percent against the government in the four referendum questions: on nuclear power; on a law to give Berlusconi legal immunity; and two on water privatisation.

Official figures released early Tuesday by the interior ministry do not yet include votes cast by Italians living abroad.

But more than 94 percent of voters slammed the government's plans for brand new atomic power stations, which had been one of Berlusconi's flagship policies.

And nearly 95 percent voted to strip Berlusconi of special privileges accorded him as prime minister that exempted him from court appearances.

Berlusconi himself did not vote and the government had encouraged its supporters to stay away. But official data showed that nearly 56 percent of voters had turned out to have their say.

Acknowledging this late Monday, Berlusconi said: "The high turnout in the referendums shows a will on the part of citizens to participate in decisions about our future that cannot be ignored."

The level of turnout was crucial because without the participation of more than 50 percent of voters the referendums would have had no legal force.

The vote against Berlusconi's plans to resume a nuclear programme reflects popular unease about atomic energy in Europe after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

And the rejection of the partial immunity law suggested voter's growing disenchantment with the 74-year-old prime minister's legal woes.

Berlusconi is a defendant in ongoing three trials involving allegations of bribery, fraud, abuse of power and paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl.

As the scale of the defeat became clear, the ruling party moved quickly to limit the damage.

Ruling party spokesman Daniele Capezzone warned critics against reading to much into the results. They should not see "a meaning or a political effect", he insisted.

Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said there would be "no effect on government policy".

But the referendum defeats represent as a second hammer blow to the embattled premier in less than a month, after his People of Freedom party lost critical mayoral votes in Milan and Naples in May.

And now, even his allies and supporters were expressing their discontent.

Roberto Calderoli, a senior figure in the Northern League party, Berlusconi's junior coalition partner, firing one warning shot.

"We got a slap in the face in the elections two weeks ago," said Calderoli, a Northern League minister. "Now at the referendums we've had another slap.

"I don't want getting slapped in the face to become a habit."

Giuliano Ferrara, an influential talk show host and long-term Berlusconi supporter, also expressed alarm.

"Something needs to change," he said.

"Berlusconi and his ruling elite have decided not to change, to continue like this, and I deeply and radically disagree."

Meanwhile Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, pressed home his advantage, calling on Berlusconi to resign.

"This referendum was about the divorce between the government and the country," he said.

James Walston, Italian politics professor at the American University of Rome, agreed.

While Berlusconi still has a majority in parliament, it is clear he does not have one in the country, Walston argued.

"Of course Berlusconi could step down but that is not his style. It is very clear that the centre right is in a serious mess and that they have no exit strategy," he said.

"With a one-man party, there is no mechanism to find a new leader and no obvious substitute," he added.

The prime minister's popularity ratings have hit record lows this year.

Lurid allegations surrounding his liaison with a nightclub dancer known as "Ruby the Heart Stealer" have been too much for many Italians.

And on the economic front, the country's sluggish growth is not reassuring the business community.

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