On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that a Japanese government advisory panel has approved a plan to revive the country’s nuclear energy sector amid the ongoing spike in global energy prices.
The plan will reverse the gradual nuclear phase-out which was implemented following the Fukushima disaster. The draft policy notes that nuclear energy offers stable energy production independent of volatile global energy markets and thus plays, “an important role as a carbon-free baseload energy source in achieving supply stability and carbon neutrality.”
The plan recommends restarting most of Japan’s existing nuclear reactors, increasing their lifespans beyond the present 60-year age limit, and constructing new, modern reactors to eventually replace the older ones.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority earlier this week approved the policy, which had been drawn up by the Economy and Industry Ministry. It now requires that the cabinet of ministers approve it. According to a report in the Nikkei news outlet, the cabinet could approve it as soon as February. Once approved by the cabinet, it will require parliamentary approval to become a lawful regulation.
In 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami which struck the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing a catastrophic meltdown. After the disaster, Japan enacted a plan to phase out nuclear energy, shutting down most of its reactors and reducing the percentage of its electricity derived from nuclear energy down to 1%, from roughly 30% prior to the disaster. However as the global energy crisis has driven up the prices on other forms of energy, Tokyo has been gradually restarting reactors to supply the nation with energy.
Prime Minister Kishida had promised the nation in May, that he would reactivate idled plants in an effort to stabilize energy prices in Japan, as the war in Ukraine drove energy prices sky high. Although Japan sided with the West in sanctioning Russia, it is still heavily dependent on energy imports, partly supplied from Russia. In 2021, roughly 4% of the nation’s consumed crude oil and 9% of the gas it consumed came from Russia.
