Japan plans to build new-generation nuclear reactors as the country faces rising costs for imported energy due to the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Wednesday.
The government will also discuss the idea of activating more nuclear plants and extending the life of reactors if safety can be guaranteed, Kishida told an energy policy meeting.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has greatly transformed the world energy landscape and, therefore, Japan needs to keep in mind potential crisis scenarios in the future”, declared the head of government.
“As for the nuclear plants, in addition to guaranteeing the operation of the 10 reactors that are already in operation, the government will lead an effort to do everything necessary to carry out the reactivation” of the others whose safety has been approved by the country’s nuclear agency, he added. .
Kishida appealed to participants at the meeting to prepare “the construction of new generation nuclear reactors equipped with new safety mechanisms” and to “make maximum use of existing nuclear power plants”.
“Please accelerate your discussions on all possible measures, based on the opinions of government and opposition parties, as well as experts, to reach concrete conclusions by the end of the year,” he declared.
Like other countries, Japan has faced limitations in energy supplies since Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago.
Japan is also facing a historic heat wave this summer, prompting the government to urge the population to save energy as much as possible.
Nuclear energy has been a sensitive topic in Japan since the March 2011 tsunami, which caused an accident at the Fukushima plant, the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Eleven years later, 10 of Japan’s 33 nuclear reactors are active, but not all of them operate year-round and the country still depends on imported fossil fuels.
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