Power shortages are to be expected in Japan in summer 2012. In year 2011, three nuclear power plants had a melt down. It affected thousands of people. At the same time, it affected how electricity is distributed in Japan. Since then, Japan has shut down all the nuclear plants in the country which provided about 30 percent of electric power. Prior to the disaster, Japan was expecting electricity from nuclear power to increase to 50 percent by 2030. After the meltdown, Japan decided to run stress and safety checks for the rest of the nuclear reactors.
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Cause
The nuclear accident that happened in Fukushima Nuclear Power Station was followed by a severe earthquake and tsunamis in March 11, 2011. It has affected multiple reactors and caused a large scale nuclear disaster in Japan. Contamination of surrounding areas soon followed and the Japanese public turned against the nuclear power industry. In May 2012, the last of 53 nuclear plants closed down. Japanese seem very cautious in restarting the plant. Although there is an increasing need for electricity, the public largely opposes nuclear power after what took place in Fukushima. Also, communities across Japan that host reactors opposed the reopening of these reactors after they were shut down for inspection. "We can't determine whether the reactors can be restarted at this phase. What needs to be clarified are regulations that could prevent severe accidents and the necessary safety standards, then we can move on to the issue of restarts," said Ohi mayor Shinobu Tokioka. Restarting the plant seems like a controversial issue in Japan. Without the nuclear plants to back the supply, it will further complicate energy shortge in Japan and the nation may face up to 15 percent of power shortage.
The IAEA stated in January 2012 that Japan's reactors met the agency's safety standard in their preliminary tests. However, the agency's spokesman, Greg Webb, also emphasized that "the agency was not vouching for the absolute safety of nuclear power plants in Japan, or whether they were a good fit for the nation." As of 2012, the country is without nuclear energy. Japan is trying to confront and overcome this difficult accident. Japan's Business Federation warns that the economy of Japan will collapse if none of the 53 reactors that has been stopped restarts.
Japan's practices to reduce energy usage
At the same time, Japan is promoting ways to reduce energy usage in total. In year 2011, Setsuden was quite effective. It was introduced in summer 2011 in order to prevent black out in Japan after Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown. The movement encouraged Japanese public to conserve energy. However, the Japanese government may not implement the same policy in 2012. Japan's Trade Minister Yukio Edano said, "We would have to call for conservation of electricity, but there's an excellent chance (the power lost if all nuclear plants are shut this summer) can be overcome without placing curbs on electricity consumption." In June 2012, Japan announced "Super Cool Biz" to be implemented to offices. In May, the nation introduced "Cool Biz" which allowed office employees to work without ties and set the air conditioner to 28'C.The more recent campaign is an upgraded version that permits employees to wear Hawaiian shirts, polo shirts and untorn jeans at work. Japanese government also allowed solid-color T-shirts and sandals. Furthermore, the government announced that workers should start working early and do not work overtime to save energy. The campaign will last til September.
Japan's forecast for summer 2012
For Japan, there is a huge energy gap but it doesn't seem that there is a viable substitute. Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano said in April 2012 that he admits that Japan is facing a huge risk of huge energy shortage. The energy is expected to be short up to 16 percent, especially in western Japan. In order to make up the loss from the absence of nuclear power plants, Japan's utilities have increased use of gas and oil-fired power plants. Japan is trying to transfer to a non-nuclear energy infrastructure. However, critics like Dr. Howard Hayden, a professor of Physics at Connecticut University, view that it will be very costly and Japan will probably go back to rely on nuclear power because of the money issue. A Japanese government panel's forecast also seem a bit grim. The panel expected that increased use of thermal power plants would reduce national wealth. Also, it would raise electricity bills for household and companies. For an instance, the Japanese Finance Ministry reported that because of extra fuel it imports, its deficit rose to $50 billion.