Japan has a coal problem.
The country’s dependence on fossil fuels has been growing since the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and consequential Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant disaster, which led to understandable widespread public opposition to nuclear energy. However, rather than taking the opportunity to set the course for a swift transition to renewable energy, the government and regional power companies have bet on fossil fuels. Coal, in particular, has played an outsized and dangerous role in the country’s energy mix since then.
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