Japan to increase nuclear energy reading with a major change after Fukushima

Japan says it will increase its reading of nuclear energy in a major change in politics as it seeks to respond to increasing demand from sectors hungry for energy such as AI and semiconductors.

An energy plan approved by the cabinet on Tuesday called for “maximum use of nuclear energy” and a reference to “reducing the reading of nuclear energy” was eliminated.

The energy plan., Written by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry He says that by 2040, nuclear energy should represent 20% of the delivery of the Japan network in 2040, more than twice as large as 8.5% share in 2023.

Comes as Fukushima nuclear power plant Since 14 years ago, he continued to hang over the country, creating painful memories.

In March 2011, An earthquake of 9.0-magnituda Near the northeast coast of Japan, the tsunami gave birth, killing over 18,000 people, erasing entire cities and flooding the reactors of the Fukushima Daicic plant.

Japan now operates 14 commercial nuclear reactors, compared to 54 before Fukushima's disaster, when 30% of the country's energy is from nuclear sources.

The plan still needs approval from parliament, where it will be discussed in the coming months.

The country that imports 90% of its fuel should strive for nuclear sources as part of its plan to reduce carbon and be independent of energy, said Dashiro Yamagiva, a deputy who was part of the government advice committee of The energy plan.

“Due to the conflict in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East, even fossil fuels have become difficult to buy,” he told the BBC. “Japan is a country without energy resources, so we need to use everything that is available in a balanced way.”

Yamagiwa added that energy weights are increasing due to demand from AI data processing centers and semiconductor factories across the country.

But experts say that the growing reading of nuclear energy will be both risky and expensive.

Japan will have to import Uranus, which is expensive and will make the country rely on other countries, said Professor Kenichi Oshima of the Faculty of Science for Politics at Ryukoku University.

Prof. Oshima told the BBC that the main concern is that the increase in the number of nuclear power plants also increases the risk of potentially catastrophic accidents.

He quoted the New Year's earthquake in 2024 in the Peninsula, where two decades ago a plan for the construction of a nuclear power plant was removed because the locals opposed.

“If there was an atomic power plant there, it is quite clear that it would cause a major accident,” he said.

In Japan, any mention of nuclear energy inevitably returns difficult memories of the nuclear collapse in the power plant in Daicic.

“We all had such a terrible experience during Fukushima's earthquake,” Tokyo Resident Yuko Maruamama told the BBC.

“How can I support it (the nuclear energy plan)? I want the government to rely on other energy sources,” she added.

“As a mother, I think of the children, their safety. I can't help but think what would happen in the future.”

Fukushima's collapse is considered to be the greatest in the world than Chernobyl in 1986.

He roused fresh disputes in 2023, when Japan began to release treated water from the site of the Fukushima plant. This has attracted protests from Japan neighbors, including China for safety concerns.

The nuclear regulator of the energy organization of the United Nations said that the wastewater is safe and will have a “minor” impact on people and the environment.

In response to the new energy plan, announced this week, Greenpeace said the promotion of nuclear energy was “outrageous” when Fukushima still continues.

“There is no excuse to continue the reading of nuclear energy, which remains toxic for tens of thousands, produces radioactive waste that requires long -term governance and carries risks such as earthquakes and terrorism,” the group said.

In order to achieve the goal of the government, experts say 33 reactors need to be returned online, but the current rate of safety inspections, as well as residents' objections in some areas will make it difficult.

Many of these nuclear power plants are old and will need to be retrofitted with new technology to function safely.

“This most difficult problem is that each nuclear power plant is in a different place and will need its own safety and infrastructure protocol,” Yamagiva said.

“We have to check each of them carefully. It still takes time.”

In recent months, regulators have approved several old reactors to continue working.

In October 2024, the oldest reactor of Japan, the Takhama nuclear power plant, was given the progress to continue the operations, making the first reactor in the country to be approved to operate after 50 years.