Japan Press Weekly

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2022 February 9 - 15 [POLITICS]

36% of fiscal 2022 budget draft for energy is allotted for nuclear energy sector

Of the fiscal 2022 budget draft for energy, 36.3% or 427 billion yen is allotted to nuclear power generation-related work, the Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers' secretariat learned recently from materials it obtained from government documents.

Compared to the present fiscal year, the proposed budget for the nuclear energy sector for the next fiscal year increased by 15.8 billion yen, exceeding the peak of 418.7 billion yen in the initial budget for FY2018. The ratio of the budget earmarked for nuclear energy to the total energy budget is the third highest after 41.4% in FY2012 and 36.8% in FY2013 after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in March 2011. The proposed budget for fossil fuels, including oil, coal, and gas accounts for 20.2% of the total energy budget.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in his policy speech delivered on January 17 called for "a new form of capitalism" and expressed his intent to promote nuclear energy under the guise of a "clean energy strategy".

In the draft budget for fiscal 2022, more than 73 billion yen is allocated as subsidies to promote the economy of local municipalities hosting nuclear power plants, and more than 4.3 billion yen is incorporated for technological development of fast reactors and small, light-water reactors in cooperation with France and the United States.

In order to achieve a decarbonized Japan without nuclear energy, it is necessary to change the current way of using tax money and focus on energy-saving measures and renewable sources of energy.

Past related article:
> Gov't basic energy plan goes against global trend
[October 24, 2021]