The Japanese government intends to give a serious boost to the revival of nuclear power, a weakened and controversial sector in the country since the Fukushima disaster in 2011
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Does Japan’s Energy Future Go Through Nuclear? Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Wednesday August 24 that a reflection would be launched on the possible construction of “new generation nuclear reactors“, which would be a major turning point for Japan.
“Japan must consider potential crisis scenarios in the future“, justified Mr. Kishida in front of the press. The country, already weakened by the energy crisis since the war in Ukraine, was also threatened with electricity shortages this summer because of scorching temperatures causing the air conditioning to run at full speed.
The archipelago would therefore like to revive the sector to produce its own electricity. “In addition to securing the operations of the ten reactors already returned to service, the government will endeavor to do all that is necessary“to restart as soon as possible other old reactors that have obtained regulatory green lights,” said the Prime Minister.
Today, nuclear power only produces around 5% of electricity in Japan, compared to 30% before the disaster at the Fukushima power plant in 2011. All of Japan’s nuclear fleet was shut down after the accident, following the a powerful earthquake and a gigantic tsunami in the northeast. Out of 33 theoretically operable reactors, only 10 have since restarted after complying with considerably higher safety standards. Aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050, Japan is also seeking to boost its renewable energies.