2 JAPAN’S ENERGY POLICY AND COMMUNITY POWER …
27
recent “We-firstism” trend (like Donald Trump’s “American First”) and
is fortunate enough to be the first multi-year cabinet since the five-year
Koizumi administration from April 2001 to September 2006. Following
Koizumi each of the subsequent six prime ministers, including Abe during
his first cabinet from September 2006 to September 2007, had to resign
within approximately one year or less due to low public support. It
seems that the Fukushima accident created greater political damage for
the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which was the ruling party from
September 2009 to December 2012, rather than for the LDP, then an
opposition party. The DPJ cabinet of Prime Minister Kan Naoto misled
the public and created a lot of confusion by deliberating concealing information and delaying information disclosure (Hasegawa 2015, pp. 11–13).
In fact, the LDP as the dominant ruling party over more than five decades
bears most of the responsibility for promoting nuclear power and the
policies that led to the Fukushima accident.
Nuclear Energy Debates After Fukushima
How did the Fukushima accident affect Japan’s electricity supply? A
drastic energy policy shift like that of Germany, which decided right after
the Fukushima accident to abandon all nuclear reactors by the end of
2022, has not so far happened in Japan. All nuclear reactors in Japan
were closed temporarily for 23 months between September 15, 2013, and
August 11, 2015, due to the new legal and regulatory requirements as
explained below. Nonetheless, there were no power outages or shortages
during this period. Especially areas within Tokyo Electric Power Company
(TEPCO), which is responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, and Tohoku EPCO, where the 3.11 earthquake and the tsunami
hit, there have had no nuclear reactors operating since the disaster. As
of the end of December 2019, only nine reactors had been approved
and restarted by the new regulatory agency, the Nuclear Regulation
Authority (NRA). Due to the legal requirement for regular maintenance,
a nuclear reactor in Japan must shut down temporarily after operating
for at most 13 months. Up to 15 September 2013, all reactors had to
close temporarily on a one-by-one basis for regular maintenance until
Japan reached zero nuclear power generation. All units along the Pacific
Ocean were forced to close because of direct damage sustained from the
earthquake and the tsunami. The NRA was established on September
27
recent “We-firstism” trend (like Donald Trump’s “American First”) and
is fortunate enough to be the first multi-year cabinet since the five-year
Koizumi administration from April 2001 to September 2006. Following
Koizumi each of the subsequent six prime ministers, including Abe during
his first cabinet from September 2006 to September 2007, had to resign
within approximately one year or less due to low public support. It
seems that the Fukushima accident created greater political damage for
the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which was the ruling party from
September 2009 to December 2012, rather than for the LDP, then an
opposition party. The DPJ cabinet of Prime Minister Kan Naoto misled
the public and created a lot of confusion by deliberating concealing information and delaying information disclosure (Hasegawa 2015, pp. 11–13).
In fact, the LDP as the dominant ruling party over more than five decades
bears most of the responsibility for promoting nuclear power and the
policies that led to the Fukushima accident.
Nuclear Energy Debates After Fukushima
How did the Fukushima accident affect Japan’s electricity supply? A
drastic energy policy shift like that of Germany, which decided right after
the Fukushima accident to abandon all nuclear reactors by the end of
2022, has not so far happened in Japan. All nuclear reactors in Japan
were closed temporarily for 23 months between September 15, 2013, and
August 11, 2015, due to the new legal and regulatory requirements as
explained below. Nonetheless, there were no power outages or shortages
during this period. Especially areas within Tokyo Electric Power Company
(TEPCO), which is responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, and Tohoku EPCO, where the 3.11 earthquake and the tsunami
hit, there have had no nuclear reactors operating since the disaster. As
of the end of December 2019, only nine reactors had been approved
and restarted by the new regulatory agency, the Nuclear Regulation
Authority (NRA). Due to the legal requirement for regular maintenance,
a nuclear reactor in Japan must shut down temporarily after operating
for at most 13 months. Up to 15 September 2013, all reactors had to
close temporarily on a one-by-one basis for regular maintenance until
Japan reached zero nuclear power generation. All units along the Pacific
Ocean were forced to close because of direct damage sustained from the
earthquake and the tsunami. The NRA was established on September