Japan aims to continue restarting nuclear power plants and boost renewables capacity, the new industry minister said on Wednesday, signaling that the new government will not alter materially the country’s current energy policy.

“We can use renewable power to the maximum, and we will restart nuclear power, the safe one, as much as possible,” Industry Minister Yoji Muto, appointed by the new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters in the first press conference as minister, as carried by Reuters.

Ishiba, who won the leadership race of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and by default became the new prime minister, had opposed reviving nuclear in the early stages of his campaign.

However, Ishiba stopped calling for ending nuclear power shortly after winning the race to be Japan’s new prime minister.

Currently, Japan is bringing back nuclear power as a key energy source, looking to protect its energy security in the wake of the energy crisis that led to surging fossil fuel prices.

The resource-poor country which needs to import about 90% of its energy requirements, made a U-turn in its nuclear energy policy at the end of 2022, as its energy import bill soared amid the energy crisis and surging costs to import LNG at record-high prices.

At present, fossil fuels account for about 70% of Japan’s electricity, which would clash with its net-zero goal.

Earlier this year, a government projection showed that Japan would need to increase its electricity output by between 35% and 50% by 2050 to meet a proportionate surge in demand.

In May, Japan launched the most important energy policy discussions in its post-World War Two history, aiming to strike a balance between the need to boost its energy security with conventional sources and its pledge to become a net-zero economy by 2050.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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