With energy prices soaring after Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, Kishida said Japan would restart more nuclear plants shut down after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and also study the development of next-generation reactors. The prime minister had already announced the restart of some factories after Tokyo came close to blackouts this year, but his tentative plans for new nuclear reactors would be a reversal of post-Fukushima policy. No new plants have been built since the 2011 disaster, when the largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history knocked out three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. A sharp rise in global energy prices largely due to the Ukraine war has caused other countries to reassess energy policy, notably Germany, which is reconsidering its post-Fukushima plan to phase out nuclear power by the end of the year. Japan’s energy policy has been paralyzed since the 2011 disaster that shut down most of its nuclear reactors. That has forced Asia’s largest advanced economy to burn extra coal, natural gas and fuel oil, even as it pledges to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Because Japan imports most of its energy, it has also been hit hard by rising commodity prices. The country relies on Russia for about 9 percent of its liquefied natural gas. Before Fukushima, Japan got about a third of its electricity from 54 nuclear reactors. Now, only six are operating with restarts hampered by a series of safety incidents and deep public distrust of Tokyo Electric Power Co, the owner of the three reactors that melted down at Fukushima. In July, Kishida unveiled plans to restart most of the 10 licensed nuclear reactors to avoid power shortages in the winter months.
