Japan Plans New Nuclear Plants... Kishida: "Decision on Next-Generation Reactor Construction by Year-End"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed his position on considering the construction and expansion of nuclear power plants.

The Japanese government has maintained the stance of not considering new construction or reconstruction of nuclear power plants since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011.

If the decision to build or expand is formally made, Japan's energy policy will shift toward continued reliance on nuclear power.

On the day, Prime Minister Kishida said at the "GX (Green Transformation) Implementation Meeting," which discusses the realization of a decarbonized society, "Items requiring political judgment, such as the development and construction of next-generation innovative reactors, have been presented. Please accelerate the review so that a concrete conclusion can be reached by the end of the year," Asahi Shimbun reported.

The Japanese government also decided to consider extending the operating period of nuclear power plants, which is currently capped at 60 years.

After the Fukushima nuclear accident, Japan set the operating period of nuclear power plants in principle to 40 years, with the possibility of extension up to 20 years if approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, allowing a total operation period of up to 60 years.

The Japanese government also plans to promote the restart of nuclear power plants that are currently in a suspended state.

Since the Fukushima nuclear accident, 10 nuclear power plants in Japan have passed the Nuclear Regulation Authority's screening and have been restarted.

There are 7 nuclear power plants that have passed the screening but have not yet restarted due to lack of consent from local governments or delays in safety measures construction.

The Japanese government stated that the goal is to restart these 7 plants after next year.

Following the Fukushima nuclear accident, all nuclear power plants in Japan were temporarily shut down, and the then Democratic Party administration announced a policy to decommission all nuclear power plants in Japan.

However, the Liberal Democratic Party administration, which returned to power in December 2012, scrapped the zero nuclear power policy and began restarting nuclear power plants.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.