Japan plans to end nuclear power by 2030s
15 Sep 2012
In a historic shift in the nation's nuclear policy after last year's Fukushima catastrophe, Japan has unveiled plans to phase out its reliance on nuclear power and shut down all its nuclear reactors by 2030s.
A nation that depended on nuclear power for a third of its electrical energy before the disaster, and targeted to raise the nuclear share to 50 per cent, now plans to focus more on renewable energy, and also look for cheaper sources of fossil fuels for power generation.
A Japanese cabinet panel said yesterday that there will be a significant shift in the country's energy policy.
"Based on facing the reality of this grave accident and by learning lessons from the accident, the government has decided to review the national energy strategy from scratch," a policy document said.
"One of the key pillars of the new strategy is to achieve a society that does not depend on nuclear energy as soon as possible," it further stated.
The decision comes 18 months after the devastation of Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011 following an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the world's second-largest nuclear plant disaster after the Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986.
