Japan Formally Adopts Policy of Using Nuclear Reactors Beyond 60 Years

Japan's Cabinet formally adopted a policy that will allow for the operation of nuclear reactors beyond their current 60-year limit alongside the building of new units to replace aging ones as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions while ensuring adequate national energy supply. From a report: The government's "green transformation" policy features extensive use of nuclear power along with renewable energy and marks a major policy shift for the country, which suffered a devastating nuclear disaster in 2011. The Cabinet decision follows a meeting in late December, in which the policy was agreed upon. Bills necessary to implement the new policy were submitted to parliament Friday. The government also plans to raise about 20 trillion yen ($152 billion) through the issuance of green transformation bonds to boost investment in decarbonization projects, as it estimates public and private investment of over 150 trillion yen will be necessary over the next 10 years. The new policy will effectively extend the amount of time reactors can remain operational beyond 60 years by excluding time spent on inspections and other offline periods from consideration when calculating their entire service life.

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