Japan utilities welcome nuclear replacement targets, seek stronger policy support
FILE PHOTO: Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, stands along the seaside in Kashiwazaki, Niigata prefecture, Japan December 21, 2025.REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
TOKYO, June 19 : Japan's power industry welcomed the government's roadmap for the future replacement of nuclear reactors as a key step towards securing the workforce and supply chains needed to sustain the sector, but its top lobbyist on Friday called for greater policy support to encourage investment.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a policy proposal that Japan needed to rebuild between two and five ageing nuclear reactors by the 2040s and as many as 11 to 14 by the 2050s to ensure a stable power supply.
• "It is highly significant that the government has set out these development targets," Nozomu Mori, chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, told a news conference.
• "Without a sense of scale, the entire industry would be left feeling uncertain about securing talent and maintaining supply chains," he said.
• Mori, who is also the president of Kansai Electric Power, said the government should also create a business environment that provides long-term investment certainty. Given the lengthy lead times for nuclear projects, he urged policymakers to move more quickly on financial support measures and regulatory reforms.
• He also expressed hope that future government policy would allow not only the replacement of existing reactors but also the construction of new ones.
