The Asahi Shimbun reported on the 16th that the Japanese government is considering allowing the construction of new nuclear power plants. Analysts say that Japan, which once pursued a "non-nuclear" policy after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, has shifted to a "pro-nuclear" stance. According to the Asahi Shimbun, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to include a provision in the revised "Basic Energy Plan" scheduled to be released this year that will allow power companies to build new reactors in exchange for shutting down aging nuclear power plants. The Japanese government revises its basic energy plan every three years.

The media explained that this measure is aimed at the Kawachi nuclear power plant of Kyushu Electric Power. It is highly likely that Kyushu Electric Power will be allowed to expand the Kawachi nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture in exchange for shutting down two reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture. However, the Japanese government plans to use the term "replace (建て替え)" instead of "expansion" in the revised plan, which means building new reactors instead of existing ones. The Asahi Shimbun explained that this is a measure to avoid stimulating opposition to the construction of new nuclear power plants.

In March 2011, Japan experienced a meltdown of the nuclear reactor core at the Fukushima nuclear power plant due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. Concerns about nuclear power plants increased as a result of the damage caused by the radioactive leak, and the Democratic Party of Japan, which was in power at the time, shut down all 54 nuclear power plants in the country and adopted a "non-nuclear" policy known as "zero nuclear power plants." However, the situation reversed when the Liberal Democratic Party, led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, returned to power at the end of the following year. In 2014, it scrapped the existing non-nuclear policy and designated nuclear power as a major energy source. Following this, from 2017, it actively promoted a nuclear power reuse policy, including allowing a 20-year extension of the operating life of aging nuclear power plants that had been operating for 40 years and excluding the period when nuclear power plants were shut down from the operating life. At the time, South Korea was pursuing a non-nuclear policy, including the permanent closure of the Kori 1 reactor and the early closure of the Wolsong 1 reactor.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who succeeded former Prime Minister Abe, is also accelerating the pro-nuclear policy. In 2022, Prime Minister Kishida announced that he would resume construction of nuclear power plants, which had been halted since the Fukushima nuclear accident, with the goal of achieving a decarbonized society. This shift to a pro-nuclear policy could lead to backlash within Japan. The Asahi Shimbun pointed out that while the logic behind this plan is that the total number of nuclear power plants will not increase by allowing new reactors to be built at other power plants on the condition of shutting down aging nuclear power plants, it raises questions about the consistency with the existing policy of "reducing the dependence on nuclear power as much as possible."

This "U-turn" is not unique to Japan. Countries around the world, including Europe and the United States, are setting nuclear power expansion as a policy direction due to a surge in electricity demand and energy supply instability caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. In May 2022, the Biden administration decided to provide a $1.5 billion loan to the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which had been permanently shut down. Finland started operating a new nuclear power plant in April last year for the first time in 40 years, and Sweden lifted restrictions on new nuclear power plant construction in November last year and is considering building 10 new nuclear power plants by 2045.