2026 POLLS: Many Parties Tolerant of Nuclear Energy Use

Tokyo, Feb. 1 (Jiji Press)–Many political parties in Japan are re-evaluating nuclear power generation nearly 15 years after the country’s worst nuclear accident. Still, energy policies are seen as a major issue in the Feb. 8 election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the country’s parliament, and voters may need to carefully assess each party’s stance over nuclear energy, due to renewed concerns about the safety of nuclear power stations following earthquake risk data fraud at Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka nuclear plant in the central prefecture of Shizuoka. In the December 2012 Lower House election, held after the March 2011 severe accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan, many parties called for ending nuclear power generation in line with growing concerns among the public over nuclear plant safety, with some of them seeking to do so immediately or as soon as possible and others in the 2020s or in the 2030s. But calls for utilizing nuclear power grew strong after electricity bills soared following the suspension of domestic nuclear plants in the wake of the Fukushima No. 1 plant accident and the start of Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Also due to an expected surge in electricity demand amid the spread of artificial intelligence, the government clarified its stance of utilizing nuclear energy as much as possible in its new basic energy policy compiled in February 2025. Procedures to obtain consent to the restart of idled nuclear reactors from host local communities accelerated under the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office last October. The No. 6 reactor at TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, was reactivated on Jan. 21 this year after a suspension of 13 years and 10 months although the unit was halted again later because of a problem. The No. 3 reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari plant in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido is also expected to be brought back online. For the upcoming Lower House election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, showed a policy of reactivating reactors that meet new safety standards drawn up after the Fukushima No. 1 plant accident. Among opposition parties, the Democratic Party for the People is calling for the restart of reactors, stressing the importance of promoting decarbonization and ensuring stable electricity supply. Team Mirai aims to raise the share of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix to 20 pct in 2030 from 9.4 pct in fiscal 2024. The major opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, established recently by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, the LDP’s former coalition partner, is calling for creating a society that does not depend on nuclear power generation in the future. But as the CDP had aimed to realize a society without nuclear power plants as soon as possible, the Centrist Reform Alliance’s policy is seen as the party’s shift to a realistic approach in line with Komeito’s stance. The new party also tolerates the reactivation of reactors for which local consent has been obtained. Meanwhile the Japanese Communist Party maintains its policy of stopping the use of nuclear energy. The Social Democratic Party is calling for ending nuclear power generation while promoting the use of renewable energy. Reiwa Shinsengumi is demanding an immediate end to nuclear power generation. Data irregularities at Chubu Electric Hamaoka plant came to light early this year. There is a possibility that the company intentionally underestimated earthquake risks in the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s screening of reactors at the Hamaoka plant for their possible restart, raising doubts about the safety of nuclear plants in the nation and the screening system of the NRA. The Lower House election is likely to present an opportunity for voters to reassess the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power generation. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]