by Mayu Sakoda and Yoshifumi Takemoto
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will step up the revival of its idled nuclear power plants and consider developing next-generation reactors, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday, a major shift in energy policy 11 years later. the Fukushima disaster.
Fumio Kishida also said the government would consider extending the life of existing reactors, which under current regulations is 60 years for most of them.
According to Japanese media, the calculation of the operating time of the plants could exclude the period during which they remained inactive.
Japan has shut down most of its nuclear reactors since the disaster at the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant in 2011, caused by a tsunami caused by a powerful earthquake at sea.
Opinion polls indicate that, since this disaster, the Japanese population is largely opposed to the restarting of nuclear power plants. However, it seems to be changing with soaring energy prices, especially as an early, hot summer fueled calls to limit energy consumption.
Members of the government met on Wednesday to develop an ecological transformation plan allowing the third largest economy in the world to achieve its environmental objectives and nuclear power is now considered by some as a component of the energy transition.
The Japanese Prime Minister has asked his office to come up with concrete measures by the end of the year to “raise a better understanding” of sustainable energy and nuclear energy among the public.
The government announced last month its intention to restart nuclear reactors in time to avoid any shortage of energy during the winter.
Seven nuclear reactors were in service at the end of July, and three others were shut down for maintenance. Many other reactors are awaiting a new authorization to operate under the stricter regulations in force since the Fukushima disaster.
(Report Mariko Katsumura and David Dolan; French version Jean Terzian and Laetitia Volga, edited by Bertrand Boucey)
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