Pure chaos is reigning over Japanese energy policy and the future of its nuclear power industry.
Just after trade minister Banri Kaieda declared the nation's nuclear power stations safe to restart late last month, Prime Minister Naoto Kan suddenly ordered that stress tests be conducted on all reactors as a precondition for rebooting. As a result, only four of the country's 54 reactors might be online next February.
At the moment, only 19 reactors are running and 15 are scheduled to undergo regular inspections in February. And the other four will have to undergo checks in the following months.