Japan plans to double reliance on nuclear power 13 years after Fukushima disaster

Japan is poised to amp up its use of nuclear power to meet national energy needs after a 13-year pause in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, according to a new strategy document released on Tuesday.

A draft energy strategy aims to push for nuclear and renewable energy to be utilised “to the fullest extent” in order to maintain economic growth and tackle emissions, The Japan Times reported.

To this end, the draft policy calls for the construction of new nuclear reactors.

Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant was heavily damaged by a major earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, sparking a series of meltdowns and the release of radioactive materials in the biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The country shut down all nuclear power plants in the aftermath.

The nuclear accident was ranked top of the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, but no death was immediately linked to radiation exposure.

The draft policy states that nuclear power should meet nearly 20 per cent of Japan’s energy needs by the fiscal year 2040 and renewable energy 40-50 per cent, more than doubling the utilisation of energy from these sources.

As of 2023, nuclear power provides for roughly 8.5 per cent of the country’s energy needs and renewables about 23 per cent, according to data from the trade ministry.

The draft policy also recommends replacing decommissioned plants with advanced reactors and calls for building new nuclear plants or expanding existing ones.

The new policy is needed, senior energy officials said, because Japan “continues to have vulnerabilities in its energy supply”. "Our nation doesn’t have readily available resources, and is geographically challenged, with mountainous terrain and deep waters that limit expansion of renewables,” Yoshifumi Murase, commissioner of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy at the Ministry of Trade, said on Tuesday.

The draft strategy has sparked anger and disapproval from families impacted by the Fukushima tragedy.

Thousands of people fled their homes when exclusion zones were set up in the aftermath of the disaster, although local authorities did not order evacuations in some areas for several weeks.

“There are still things that need to be done before changing the policy,” Suenaga, a resident who lived 30km from the nuclear plant and lost his father in the aftermath of the disaster, told The Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

The disaster displaced more than 25,000 people and evacuation orders are still in place for seven municipalities.

Another aggrieved local resident, Hachisuka, said: “The disaster is being forgotten while there are still people who cannot return to their homes,” the report added.