Share of Japanese who support atomic energy 2012-2021

According to a survey conducted on nuclear energy in Japan in 2021, over 18 percent of respondents were in favor of using nuclear energy as an energy source for their country in the future. The support for nuclear energy drastically decreased after 2011, but started to increase again slightly in more recent years.

 Effects of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima

In March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and the following tsunami caused a nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima Prefecture. In the years after the disaster, the share of nuclear energy generation dropped down to zero, since all nuclear reactors were shut down for security inspections. The first nuclear reactors were put back into operation in 2015.

 Energy policy in Japan

After the nuclear disaster, nuclear energy was replaced by fossil fuels, which are mainly imported. To be less dependent on fossil fuel imports as well as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Japanese government plans to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity production up to 38 percent by 2030. Furthermore, the country plans to become carbon neutral by 2050. Next to the expansion of renewables, nuclear energy will be an essential low-carbon energy source to cut emissions.