Amid concerns about a stable power supply fueled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine — which has disrupted the commodity market and pushed up energy prices — Japan has signed off on a significant turnaround in its nuclear power policy.
With the 2011 nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan propelling the government to reduce its dependence on nuclear power, lawmakers and officials opted not to build new reactors in light of safety concerns among the public and falling costs for renewable energy.
But concerns about the disaster centering on the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant appear to have been overshadowed by soaring prices for essential goods driven by the Ukraine crisis and instability in the pandemic-hit world economy.