Japan’s Energy Policy – the reality gap still causing trouble

A long but useful article in the New York Times discusses the recent announcement but the Japanese government on future energy policy. The decision is that the country will phase out nuclear power by 204o, however the announcement has sparked even more debate as they are various caveats included that could see Japanese reactors still running by 2070.

I’m not going to cover every element here so I do recommend you read the article. What I do want to discuss is one of the issues that underlines the entire debate in Japan and that’s the reality gap between both sides.

When faced with enough public pressure, most democratic governments will change direction – especially if it’s close to an election. So why hasn’t the incumbent government done so to the satisfaction of the Japanese Public? The reason is facts.
• It’s a fact that idling the countries reactor fleet helped deliver Japan’s first trade deficit in more than 30 years.
• It’s a fact that Japan’s largest power company has increased electricity rates by 8% (for home owners) and whopping 15% (for businesses).
• It’s a fact that the country’s carbon footprint has exploded during the same time as the power companies have been forced to power up oil and gas-fired power stations.
• It’s a fact that nuclear energy is a critical source of clean energy capable of delivering the high-base load power that national grids demand.

Pretty much every method of power generation has risks which need to be dealt with. The Japanese had a completely natural and understandable reaction to Fukushima and are right at every turn to put maximum pressure on their government but in my opinion that pressure should be to ensure the safety of their clean, low-cost power stations rather than cripple their economy further and continue to burn vast amounts of fossil fuels.

Dev Randhawa