Energy transition in Japan: nuclear power or renewables? The population is worried!

Energy transition in Japan: nuclear power or renewables? The population is worried!

Energy prices in Japan are under pressure due to high natural gas prices and persistent inflation. This leads to a significant increase in electricity prices, especially in summer as cooling requirements increase. In order to reduce the burden on the population, the Japanese government is planning financial relief from July to September this year. Nevertheless, there are critical voices about the country's energy policy, especially with regard to the billions invested in nuclear power instead of increased expansion of photovoltaics.

As oekonews reports, photovoltaics supplies the largest share of renewable electricity in Japan, but only accounts for less than 10% of total electricity production. The last 15 years of energy policy have been widely criticized as economically unreasonable, with Japan's dependence on imported energy remaining high.

New energy plan and nuclear power

In February 2025, Japan adopted its seventh Basic Energy Plan, which aims to increase the share of nuclear energy to 20% by 2040. At the same time, there is the goal of expanding the share of renewable energy to 40-50%. Despite these ambitions, the decision to actively expand nuclear power has been heavily criticized by the public. Experts warn that Japan could become less competitive internationally as other countries increasingly rely on renewable energy.

wko.at explains that nuclear energy is presented as indispensable for decarbonization and energy security. In view of increasing energy demand due to the expansion of semiconductor factories and data centers, the government plans to double electricity generation from renewable energies. Offshore wind farms and innovative perovskite solar cells in particular are to be expanded more quickly.

Challenges and criticism

However, despite these plans, Japan faces high investment costs and delays in implementing renewable energy projects. This is leading to an increasing focus on nuclear reactors. Japan has great potential for offshore wind power and is working closely with the EU on technical standards and maritime spatial planning. However, wind energy is still not sufficiently taken into account in the current government draft.

The public consultation on the energy plans attracted strong interest, with over 41,000 responses, many of which were critical of ignoring the lessons of the Fukushima disaster. Environmental organizations and citizens' initiatives are calling for greater consideration of the safety risks of new reactors in an earthquake-prone region as well as a solution to the unresolved problem of the final disposal of highly radioactive waste.

The discussion about Japan's future energy policy highlights the tension between security of supply, climate goals and social acceptance. The experts point out that the long-term balance between sustainability, safety and economic efficiency remains an unsolved challenge.