Fate of nuclear power in quake-prone Japan faces more uncertainty

Recent disasters stir deep fears over safety as nation grapples with growing energy demands, emissions reduction

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A decade after one of the most devastating atomic energy disasters in history, Japan was finally getting closer to reviving nuclear power.

Around 2022, a majority of the public began to express support for restarting the nation's nuclear plants, most of which have remained offline since an earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima prefecture in 2011.

Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) pushed forward with plans to not only restart idled plants, but also build new ones.

The long-ruling party made an urgent call to advance nuclear energy, which it said would help the heavily fossil fuel-dependent country meet growing energy demands and fulfil its pledge to cut carbon emissions.

Then, in 2024, a series of disasters reminded many in Japan of their deep fears about nuclear energy, and the LDP lost its majority in the influential lower chamber of Parliament. The fate of nuclear power in the country is again uncertain.

In January, the deadliest earthquake in Japan in over a decade struck the Noto Peninsula on the country's north-west coast. More than 400 people died, and many buildings were damaged, including an idled nuclear power plant.

In August, a tremor in southern Japan prompted experts to warn that a long-anticipated mega-quake, predicted to kill hundreds of thousands, could be imminent.

"With earthquakes erupting across the country, it is so clear that nuclear power is a harm to our safety," said Mr Hajime Matsukubo, secretary-general of the Citizens' Nuclear Information Centre in Tokyo. "This was made evident in 2011, and again during the Noto earthquake."

A poll conducted by Mainichi Shimbun, one of Japan's major newspapers, a few months after the Noto earthquake, revealed that 45 per cent of respondents opposed restarting Japan's nuclear plants, surpassing the 36 per cent who supported it.