The country has just made a spectacular turn to nuclear power.
Japan was hit by one of the biggest nuclear disasters of the century in 2011.
An earthquake, followed by a tsunami, struck the country on March 11 of that year, killing more than 18,000 people. This figure was later revised upwards.
Added to this high number of victims were the terrible consequences of an accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant.
This disaster had led the country to review its nuclear policy. As a result, Japan decided to drastically reduce its nuclear power production. The new policy broke with the strategy adopted by the country after World War II to ensure its energy independence.
After the first oil crisis of 1973, it became a priority. Japan was then the third civil nuclear power in the world, behind the United States and France. The country had 54 reactors in operation. Nearly 30% of its electricity mix is provided by nuclear and it foresees an energy future based on renewable energies and nuclear, guaranteed with the construction of 23 new reactors by 2030.
Japan takes a big U-turn
The Fukushima disaster cut short the rise of the sector and caused the closure of the entire Japanese nuclear fleet. As a result, the government has decided to phase out nuclear power by 2030.
A little more than 10 years later, the country has just taken another U-turn and resumed its nuclear development despite protests from environmental activists.
Influenced by global energy tensions sparked by the war in Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to restart nuclear power production. He announced last August the start of a reflection on the construction of new generation nuclear reactors.
He called for maximizing the use of the 10 existing nuclear reactors authorized to produce power. He added that the government will strive to do whatever is necessary to restart other reactors that have received a regulatory green light as soon as possible.
The Japanese government has just approved a plan to maximize the use of nuclear energy. The country wants to increase the share of nuclear power in its energy mix to 20% by the end of the decade. Before the Fukushima nuclear disaster, this share was 30% and the country even planned to expand it to 40%.
Japan confirmed on February 10 that it wants to restart as many reactors as possible in the next few years. It will also run the reactors for longer. Currently, it is possible to operate a nuclear reactor for 40 years and, in exceptional circumstances, up to 60 years. Under the new rules, reactor downtime will not be counted.
Musk goes nuclear
Japan also plans to develop and build new nuclear reactors. These should replace 20 reactors that will be dismantled in the next few years.
If the decision is denounced by the families of the victims of the 2011 disaster and by environmentalists, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) – Get a free reportHe thinks it’s a good decision and has just made it known.
“🇯🇵🇯🇵 Great decision by Japan! 🇯🇵🇯🇵,” the billionaire posted on Feb. 10.
The billionaire has surprised environmental activists in recent months by supporting nuclear power. In particular, he encouraged Germany not to abandon the atom in order to free itself from dependence on Russian gas.
This position is surprising because Musk is the one who pushed the automotive industry to reduce its polluting emissions through the development of electric vehicles. With Tesla, he also develops renewable energy, and in particular solar.
