Fukushima
Reports on Fukushima See all →
GIS Dossier: Nuclear energy
The 2011 Fukushima disaster brought nuclear energy development programs around the world to a screeching halt – temporarily. Though Germany plans to fully phase out nuclear power production, Japan has brought several reactors back online, and other countries have restarted construction on nuclear plants. These developments have had huge geopolitical effects: Germany’s fossil fuel imports from Russia have grown, while China has found an opening to increase its sway on four continents by financing nuclear projects.
Abe’s canny power plays will shake up Japanese electricity market
Change is coming to Japan’s electricity market along two seemingly contradictory tracks. On one hand, the recent restart of two nuclear reactors signals the government’s commitment to well-connected, entrenched interests. On the other, a push to liberalise the sector will break those interests’ long-held grip on the country’s generation and ...
Areva and state capitalism’s delusions of grandeur
Among the legacies of the 2008-2009 financial crisis is the ‘return of the state’ – a resurrected school of thought, or rather intellectual creed, that more direct government involvement in the economy is needed to salvage capitalism. By 2009, John Maynard Keynes, the celebrated British economist whose concepts informed ...
Hydrogen to play key role in Japan's energy future
With the spectre of the Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011 still raw in the minds of Japan’s population, there is concern whether the country’s new Strategic Energy Plan will give the public confidence that the country is moving towards safe energy options. The plan reduces the emphasis on nuclear ...
The geopolitical risks of Japan’s dependence on importing energy
Nuclear-free Japan depends entirely on imported fossil fuels for its energy supplies. This makes it hugely vulnerable to outside risks which could threaten its three-week back-up of energy stores. The reliance on importing energy is influencing Japan’s geopolitical outlook and the pressure it places on its allies. <i&...
