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19.09.2012 13:25Japan Approves Plan to Exit Nuclear Energy
Since the plan was announced on Friday, Japan's powerful industry lobbies have urged the government rethink the nuclear-free commitment, arguing it could damage the economy and would mean spending more on pricey fuel imports
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Japan's cabinet has approved a new energy plan to cut the country's reliance on nuclear power in the wake of last year's Fukushima disaster, but dropped a reference to meet a nuclear- free target by the 2030s, ministers said on Wednesday, as quoted by Reuters.
Since the plan was announced on Friday, Japan's powerful industry lobbies have urged the government rethink the nuclear-free commitment, arguing it could damage the economy and would mean spending more on pricey fuel imports.
Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who also oversees the energy portfolio, said the cabinet had approved the new energy plan.
"But whether we can become nuclear free by the 2030s is not something to be achieved only with a decision by policy makers. It also depends on the will of (electricity) users, technological innovation and the environment for energy internationally in the next decade or two," he said.
In abandoning atomic power, Japan aims to triple the share of renewable power to 30 percent of its energy mix by the 2030s, but will remain a top importer of oil, coal and gas for the foreseeable future.
All but two of Japan's nuclear 50 reactors are idled for safety checks after an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 devastated the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
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