In Japan, the lights are already starting to go out...

Government accused of plotting to restart nuclear plants as it warns of power cuts

Tokyo

Millions of Japanese homes are preparing for a long hot summer after Japan's government warned that a shortage of electricity generation could lead to mandatory power cuts. Critics say the threat is a ploy to force the restart of the nation's idling nuclear power plants.

With all 54 reactors shut down or destroyed, the authorities could be forced to demand a reduction in power usage of 20 per cent in western Japan, said a government draft document this week, an area that includes the huge Osaka region – home to nearly nine million people.

The last of the reactors went offline for routine maintenance on 5 May, triggering the start of a debate over the country's nuclear future. Nuclear power accounted for about a third of Japan's energy generation before last year's triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Businesses say they face a summer slump unless the country's utilities crank out more electricity. The head of the Japan Business Federation, Hiromasa Yonekura, has repeatedly predicted that the $5tn (£3.1trn) economy could "collapse" without the nuclear plants.

A local government in Fukui Prefecture this week became the first to vote for a plant restart since the Fukushima crisis began. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda sparked condemnation last month when he announced the Oi complex, 225 miles west of Tokyo, was safe to operate. Kansai Electric, operator of the complex, pays about $30m in subsidies a year to the local host community, which also depends on the plant for hundreds of jobs.

Opponents insist Japan should stay nuclear free and have accused the government and utilities of hyping the threat of power cuts ahead of the country's sweltering summer. "The 2012 summer peak in electricity demand can be managed with energy efficiency, proper load balancing, and energy conservation," said Hisayo Takada, a Greenpeace Japan climate and energy campaigner.

Experts have long questioned the safety of nuclear power in a country that experiences 20 per cent of the world's magnitude-6 earthquakes, but last year's crisis seriously damaged public faith in Japan's network of coastal reactors. Opinion polls conducted on the first anniversary of the 11 March disaster found about 60 per cent of people opposed to restarting reactors with 80 per cent expressing distrust in the new safety measures.

The post-Fukushima crisis has already damaged Japan's commitment to cut greenhouse gasses and increased its bill for oil and gas imports, leaving the country with its first trade deficit in three decades

The draft document, by the government's energy and environment panel, also floated rolling power shortages in the north and south of the country, warning that electricity demand is likely to outstrip supply. The government is due to make a decision on the power cuts sometime in the next week.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
From the blogs

The Retail Ready People project means the future of the high street is in your hands

There are more empty shops on our high streets than ever before, says another report into the state ...

A changing of the guards in English football: From Sir Alex Ferguson to Jose Mourinho

The guard has changed at Old Trafford for the first time in 26 years. Meanwhile, down the road, the ...

The Fall ‘Darkness Visible’ – Series 1, episode 2

There is a good many moments in the second episode of this psychological thriller that deserve refle...

‘Vicious’ – Series 1, episode 4

The opening titles squeal ‘Never Can Say Goodbye…’. Oh Lord how I wish I could heave this series off...

       

Day In a Page

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death
Stuart Hogg: Ready to climb his own Everest

Stuart Hogg: Ready to climb his own Everest

Lions' cub, 20, joins long line of players from Scottish borders club Hawick given opportunity to make his mark at highest level
Carl Froch handed rare chance of revenge with dream rematch

Steve Bunce on Boxing

Carl Froch handed rare chance of revenge with dream rematch against Mikel Kessler
'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'

Masculinity in crisis?

'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'
Have US shock jocks gone too far?

Have US shock jocks gone too far?

An incendiary remark from Rush Limbaugh may be the beginning of the end for outspoken right-wing US broadcasters
The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey pays more income tax than big cities of the North

The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey

Elmbridge pays more income tax than big cities of the North
Heavenly Bodies

Heavenly Bodies

Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell