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🇯🇵🇮🇷 Japan is going back to nuclear, and the Iran war is a big reason why.
15 years after Fukushima, the country is restarting reactors at a pace that would have seemed unthinkable in 2011.
This week, Japan opened its 16th reactor since the Fukushima meltdown, operated by the same utility that oversaw the disaster.
The timing is no accident:
Japan imports 30% of its electricity from natural gas, almost all of it from abroad. The Iran war choked the Strait of Hormuz, threatening roughly 10% of Japan's LNG supply.
One analysis found a prolonged closure could cut Japan's GDP by 3% this year alone.
Nuclear removes that exposure. Uranium is globally abundant and energy-dense. Missing a shipment won't shock markets the way a gas disruption does.
Prime Minister Takaichi wants to double nuclear output by 2040. Two more reactors could restart by 2027. Eight more are under review.
The politics are still messy. Only 37% of Japanese support restarts, 40% are undecided, and environmental groups are protesting outside Tepco's headquarters.
But local leaders keep approving restarts anyway. Jobs and tax revenue tend to win over abstract risk.
The closing line from Tepco says it all: "There is no such thing as absolute safety."
Japan decided to live with that. Wars and grid pressure made the choice easier.
$PHB $GTC $BTR
15 years after Fukushima, the country is restarting reactors at a pace that would have seemed unthinkable in 2011.
This week, Japan opened its 16th reactor since the Fukushima meltdown, operated by the same utility that oversaw the disaster.
The timing is no accident:
Japan imports 30% of its electricity from natural gas, almost all of it from abroad. The Iran war choked the Strait of Hormuz, threatening roughly 10% of Japan's LNG supply.
One analysis found a prolonged closure could cut Japan's GDP by 3% this year alone.
Nuclear removes that exposure. Uranium is globally abundant and energy-dense. Missing a shipment won't shock markets the way a gas disruption does.
Prime Minister Takaichi wants to double nuclear output by 2040. Two more reactors could restart by 2027. Eight more are under review.
The politics are still messy. Only 37% of Japanese support restarts, 40% are undecided, and environmental groups are protesting outside Tepco's headquarters.
But local leaders keep approving restarts anyway. Jobs and tax revenue tend to win over abstract risk.
The closing line from Tepco says it all: "There is no such thing as absolute safety."
Japan decided to live with that. Wars and grid pressure made the choice easier.
$PHB $GTC $BTR
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