April 24, 2023

Akahata 'Morning breeze' column

Japan still continues to persist in promoting the use of nuclear energy as a measure to fight global warming.

In contrast to Germany where all nuclear power stations were shut down, Japan, despite having trouble reactivating offline reactors after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown accident, focused its efforts on exporting nuclear reactors and technologies, for example, to Vietnam, Turkey, Lithuania, and Jordan. All attempts in Japan's sales campaign, however, resulted in failure. Now, on the pretext of addressing rising energy prices, Japan is planning to extend the operational lifespan of aged nuclear reactors and to develop and construct smaller reactors.

In addition, Japan is seeking to prolong coal-fired thermal power generation by such means as burning ammonia, which the government says does not emit CO2, and oxygen together in a high-efficiency burn. Japan even intended to globally market such coal-fired thermal power stations and technologies. However, ammonia produces CO2 in the process of coal burning and also in the process of ammonia refinery. To entirely end coal-fired thermal power generation is the current worldwide trend.

The present Japanese energy policy runs counter to this international trend. In the G7 Summit in Germany last year, Japan opposed setting a time limit for the termination of coal-fired power generation. It only agreed on the "phasing out" of coal. In the latest G7 environmental ministers' meeting on climate, Japan, the meeting's host country, maintained the same position.

Going its own way, Japan will certainly be left behind the rest of the world and will undermine Japan's international competitiveness in the field of electricity generation.