Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech at Guildhall in London, Britain, May 5, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
LONDON, May 5 – Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday it will use nuclear reactors to help reduce its own and other countries’ dependence on Russian energy.
Since shutting down nuclear reactors after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, in which an earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown and devastated the northeastern region, Japan has become more dependent on Russian gas.
With July’s general election and rising energy prices straining voter budgets, Kishida said nuclear power is part of the country’s future energy policy.
He said Japan will address the “vulnerability of our own energy self-sufficiency” by expanding energy sources, promoting renewable energy and using nuclear power to diversify its generation sources.
“We will use nuclear reactors with safety guarantees to help reduce global dependence on Russian energy,” Kishida told an audience in London’s financial district.
“Restarting just one existing nuclear reactor would have the same effect as delivering 1 million tons of new LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) per year to the world market.”
More than a decade after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, nuclear power remains a difficult issue in Japan, where only a handful of the 30 or so plants are currently operational. Continue reading
But a majority of the public and business want the government to restart nuclear reactors to improve energy security, and the Ukraine crisis and higher energy costs have reinforced this change of heart.
Kishida addressed the City of London with pro-investment messages: “Japan is a buy”. Continue reading
He said investments of 150 trillion yen ($1.16 trillion) would be raised over the next decade to achieve carbon neutrality goals by 2050 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by 2030.
He outlined a roadmap to 2030 that focuses on maximizing the use of “pro-growth carbon pricing” and promoting long-term projects.
($1 = 129.5800 yen)
reporting by Tommy Wilkes and Muvija M, writing by William James and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Edited by Kate Holton and John Stonestreet