But with the 2030s now a fair bit closer to us than in 2011, Japan, like the U.S. Just in time for the rest of the world to phase out internal combustion cars in favor of battery EVs around the same period. That didn't stop the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government and, later, Shinzo Abe's from promising to phase out Japan's nuclear fission infrastructure by the 2030s. The blame for the disaster was ultimately placed on a colossal 9.1-magnitude earthquake and not the fault of gross negligence, unlike other major nuclear accidents like Chornobyl (Chernobyl), for instance. If Japan is to expand its economy while reducing its CO2 emissions, officials there reason that nuclear energy is critical and thus, they must leverage their existing assets.But according to reports from NPR, Japan has recently backtracked a substantial amount of the anti-nuclear political sentiment the nation harbored in the years following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. But their leadership asserts that the critics' concerns have been addressed and that the nuclear energy sector has undergone a transformation - one that is safer and more transparent than it has ever been. The Japanese people's continued skepticism is natural and healthy. " The power companies will meet the ( safety, energy security, economic efficiency and environmental conservation standards) and contribute to the energy policy of Japan by maintaining and establishing generation facilities as appropriate, fully in line with the government's policies." "The key in moving forward is how to implement the new energy mix that the government has set," Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan chairman Yagi said. Meantime, fossil fuels - coal, LNG and oil - would comprise 55% by then, which have been as much as 85% in recent years. In combination with nuclear energy, low-carbon sources would amount to roughly 45% of the electricity portfolio mix by 2030 - if Japanese trade and energy officials' plans come to fruition. Major Japanese companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi are investing in wind, solar, and smart-grid technologies. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry suggests increasing its green energy mix from 9 percent today 22-24% by 2030. No doubt, Japan has turned more and more to renewable energy and energy efficiency, which have helped the country reduce both its electricity consumption and its fossil fuel usage - something that a a majority of the country's citizens favor. Besides the economics, nuclear energy - from a climate point of view - is better than natural gas. The potential restart of Japan’s nuclear fleet is within grasp in large measure because the infrastructure is in place and dismantling it would take decades, all of which makes nuclear power a more plausible long term alternative than importing liquefied natural gas, or LNG. T he Federation of American Scientists has said that the accident at Fukushima was preventable and its findings are being used to enable the restarts of more nuclear units in Japan. The agency has shown its willingness to exert its influence and to routinely give updates on the disabled Fukushima nuclear facility.Īs such, the country's nuclear reactors are all going through rigorous stress tests to ensure that they can survive events similar to what happened in March 2011. One factor that has helped Japan is a nuclear watchdog that was created in September 2012: The Nuclear Regulation Authority has eliminated the cozy relationships that allowed utility employees to become nuclear regulators and it has stood up to political pressure to turn a blind eye to operational shortcuts. especially as Japan has few energy resources," the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan chairman Makoto Yagi is quoted as saying by the World Nuclear News. "We believe that energy policy is a core policy of a nation, and must be approached from a medium- to long-term standpoint. Under that agreement, Japan has committed to cut its CO2 emissions by 26% between 20. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry says that if the country is to meet its obligations under the Paris climate accord, then nuclear energy needs to make up between 20-22% of the nation's portfolio mix - a country with limited natural resources upon which it can rely. Right now, nuclear energy is providing 1.7% of Japan's electricity, which is down from 30% before the 2011 accident. Five of those are now back in service, leaving 43 idled.) (The Fukushima accident took out four of the 54 nuclear units. While 43 other reactors remain offline, about 21 re-start applications are now pending with an estimated of 12 units to come back in service by 2025 and 18 by 2030, Japan Forward reports. Meanwhile, another Japanese utility, Kansai Electric Power Co., recently started up two different reactors.
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