Japan intends to increase use of nuclear energy

Japan intends to increase the use of nuclear energy as part of its energy policy renewal.

Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets that the country reduced its dependence on nuclear power after the disaster in Fukushima in 2011 and increased the use of fossil fuel for the production of electricity to 70 percent.

However, due to sharp increases in coal and gas prices and the Russia-Ukraine war, the government is considering wider use of nuclear power, along with wind and solar power, to ensure a stable energy supply.

Any move to increase nuclear power by Japan, the world's second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas and the largest buyer of thermal coal, would affect exporters of the fossil fuel, including Australia, Qatar, the United States and Indonesia.

The government said the country will likely need to increase electricity production by about 50 percent by 2050 as demand from semiconductor manufacturing plants and data processing centers increases. Energy companies and the industrial sector, in turn, are increasingly calling for greater use of nuclear power, as geopolitical tensions increase the risk of power outages and rising electricity prices.