Japanese imports of nuclear fuels has plummeted in recent years, dropping to “close to zero,” one of the country’s top newspapers said.
In the reaction to the March 11, 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daichi power plant, 21 of Japan’s nuclear reactors have been culled from what was once a country that, prior to March 2011, counted on nuclear power for 30 percent of its electricity generation. At the time of the accident, which occurred when a strong earthquake created a tsunami swelling of ocean waves, Japan had plans to increase its dependence on nuclear power, expecting by 2017 it would have 40 percent of its electricity created by nuclear energy.
Before 2011, Japan had 54 commercial reactors operating.
The Japan Times reported this week that nuclear fuel imports in 1984 were valued at $2.64 billion.
That peak leveled off and dropped to about $1 billion to $1.4 billion, pre-2011. The year following the accident, imports reflected the nuclear power moratorium that prompted the move towards stricter safety standards and a public sentiment backlash.
Japan imports all of its nuclear plant fuel and last year, according to the Japan Times, it dropped to $421,176 in 2019.
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