On 25 November 2008 the Japan Advertising Review Organization (JARO) sent a letter to the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPCO) regarding a complaint concerning an advertisement placed by FEPCO in a Japanese magazine in April 2008.
The complaint claimed that the following words in FEPCO's advertisement were incorrect and inappropriate:
"Nuclear power ... is a "clean way of producing electricity", which does not release CO2 when generating electricity."
The complaint pointed out that these words could mislead consumers.
JARO judged that the word "clean" does not fit well with nuclear energy. It said that many consumers would have misgivings about the claim that nuclear energy is "clean", on the sole grounds that it does not emit CO2 during electricity generation, when there is no accompanying explanation about safety or radioactive waste. JARO recommended that claims that nuclear energy is "clean", without adequate explanation of safety and the effect of nuclear energy on the environment, should not be made in future.
For most people JARO's conclusion is plain common sense, but it is refreshing to see the nuclear industry rebuked by an advertising watch dog for misleading advertising.
JARO's letter was supposed to be confidential, but it was reported in the media. Below is a link to an English language article.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/use-of-clean-in-ad-for-nuclear-power-deemed-inappropriate
Philip White
International Liaison Officer
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
