Nearly fifteen years after the Fukushima disaster forced Japan to retreat from nuclear energy, the country is gradually shifting back towards the power source as energy security concerns and rising fuel costs reshape policy and public opinion, reports Reuters.
Takuma Hashimoto was three years old when the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011 triggered nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, about an hour’s drive from his home. As the crisis unfolded, his family was unable to flee like many neighbours because they could not find petrol for their car.
Now 18, Hashimoto studies engineering at a technical college in the nearby city of Iwaki and hopes to build a career in Japan’s nuclear industry. His campus sits close to a radiation monitoring station that still measures local levels.
“I don’t think nuclear power should be treated as something that’s automatically dangerous,” he said.
Hashimoto’s outlook reflects a broader shift in the national debate as Japan reassesses nuclear power ahead of the fifteenth anniversary of the disaster that reshaped its energy policy.
Before Fukushima, nuclear energy produced about 30 per cent of Japan’s electricity from 54 reactors, making the resource-poor nation one of the world’s largest users of nuclear power. The disaster, the worst since Chornobyl, sparked widespread public opposition and led authorities to shut down all reactors for safety inspections and upgrades.
In 2012, the government announced plans to phase out nuclear energy entirely. That policy was reversed two years later, although restarts have proceeded slowly and many reactors have been permanently decommissioned.
Today, the government is once again promoting nuclear power as part of its long-term energy strategy. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a strong advocate of nuclear energy, is pushing to accelerate reactor restarts and develop advanced technologies aimed at reducing Japan’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.
The restart in January of one of seven reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility, the world’s largest nuclear power plant, marked an important milestone in that effort. Even so, only 15 of the 33 reactors still considered operable in Japan have resumed operation.
Energy security concerns have strengthened the case for nuclear power. Japan relies on the Middle East for roughly 95 per cent of its oil imports, leaving it vulnerable to geopolitical tensions. Recent instability in the region following United States strikes on Iran has underscored those risks.
At the same time, electricity demand is expected to rise as artificial intelligence data centres and other digital infrastructure expand.
Public opinion appears to be shifting as well. A survey published last month by the Asahi newspaper found that 51 per cent of respondents support restarting nuclear reactors, compared with 28 per cent when the newspaper first began polling the issue in 2013.
Support is strongest among younger Japanese aged 18 to 29, where 66 per cent favour restarts.
However, Japan’s nuclear revival faces a potential shortage of skilled workers. Universities admitted only 177 students to nuclear-related courses in 2024, compared with 317 just before the Fukushima disaster and a peak of 673 in the early 1990s.
Hashimoto acknowledges that opposition remains strong in some communities. On his daily commute to college, he regularly sees anti-nuclear protesters gathered near the train station.
“What matters is using nuclear power properly, having measures in place in case something happens, and developing technology to make sure accidents don’t occur,” he said.
For those involved in the 2011 disaster response, the debate over nuclear energy has evolved with time. Seiji Inada, 49, was part of the government’s crisis management team during the Fukushima emergency.
He spent days with hundreds of officials inside an underground bunker beneath the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, monitoring the unfolding catastrophe and helping assess casualties.
Inada recalls watching footage of a reactor building exploding while authorities feared radioactive contamination might reach Tokyo, one of the world’s largest cities. Around 150,000 residents living near the plant were evacuated, many of whom never returned.
“I remember during my short lunch break, I called my dad and I told him: ‘Well, I can’t tell you any details, but just prepare for the worst case scenario,’” he said.
A government inquiry published in 2012 concluded that the accident was a “man-made” disaster, blaming plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company, regulators and the government for failing to establish adequate safety measures. Prime Minister Naoto Kan later resigned after criticism of the response.
“The lesson of 3/11 is humility: low-probability shocks happen. What matters is governance,” said Inada, who now works at consultancy FGS Global. He added that attitudes towards nuclear power have gradually shifted as the initial shock faded and the debate moved from emotion to practical trade-offs.
Within the industry, engineers say the Fukushima disaster forced sweeping improvements in safety design. Keiji Matsunaga, 59, a veteran nuclear engineer at Toshiba, says those lessons are shaping the next generation of reactors.
He joined the company in 1991, five years after the Chornobyl disaster, and says the sector has long faced public distrust that intensified after Fukushima.
Despite the setbacks, Matsunaga believes nuclear energy remains essential for Japan’s energy security. The gradual restart of reactors is also reviving the industry.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said last week that revenue from its nuclear power division is expected to reach a record 400 billion yen, about $2.5 billion, next year — a target previously forecast for 2030.
New reactor designs aim to avoid disasters like Fukushima. Matsunaga said future plants could include reactor buildings reinforced with steel plate and concrete capable of withstanding aircraft impacts, along with additional passive cooling systems that keep reactors safe even if power systems fail.
“By adopting these measures, we believe events like Fukushima can be prevented,” he said.
