Shinzo Abe's pledge to spur ¥30 trillion of investment in Japan's electricity industry opens the way for a surge in clean energy projects at the expense of traditional utilities.
The prime minister endorsed proposals to deregulate an industry that produces power mostly from fossil fuels, as well as to boost competition among generators and make it easier for wind and solar energy to be distributed to consumers. His speech Wednesday in Tokyo didn't mention restarting nuclear reactors idled since the earthquake-tsunami disaster in 2011.
Utility shares in Japan tumbled, led by Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns the plant in Fukushima that suffered three meltdowns after the earthquake-tsunami double-punch two years ago.