Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida takes photos during a press conference on Wednesday August 10, 2022.
Rodrigo Reyes Marin | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Japan’s prime minister said on Wednesday that his country would restart more decommissioned nuclear power plants and study the feasibility of developing next-generation reactors.
Fumio Kishida’s comments, reported by Portal, build on comments he made in May and come as Japan — a large energy importer — is trying to weigh its options amid ongoing uncertainty in global energy markets and the war between Russia and Japan strengthen Ukraine.
If fully realized, the move would mark a turnaround for the country’s energy policy following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, when a powerful earthquake and tsunami led to a meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Most Japanese nuclear power plants have since been shut down, but attitudes appear to be changing. Earlier this month, a former Executive Director of the International Energy Agency said public support in Japan for a nuclear restart is now over 60%.
Japan aims to be carbon neutral by 2050. The country’s 6th Strategic Energy Plan, under “ambitious prospects,” envisages that renewable energy will account for 36% to 38% of its power generation mix by 2030, while nuclear power will account for 20% to 22%.
“Stable use of nuclear energy is promoted on the main premise of building public confidence in nuclear energy and ensuring safety,” says an outline of the plan.
– CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan contributed to this report