The Japanese government announced plans on Monday to extend the operating life of existing nuclear power plants and build new ones.  It marks a clear shift in Japan's nuclear policy away from its insistence since the 2011 radiation leak at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that it relies as little on nuclear power as possible.  

According to Kyodo News, the Japanese government made the above policy clear in the basic policy of energy transformation, which was announced on July 22, and intends to use nuclear power and renewable energy "to the maximum extent".  The measures include maximizing the use of existing nuclear power plants, restarting plants that are out of service as much as possible, extending the 60-year life of nuclear plants, and committing to the development of a new generation of nuclear power plants.  

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan submitted a draft to extend the operation period of nuclear power plants, which was approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Japan on December 21.  According to the draft, nuclear power plants will be subject to an aging inspection every 10 years after 30 years of operation and can be extended after passing the inspection.  

Under previous rules, Japan's nuclear plants were subject to review after 40 years of operation and could be extended only once to a maximum of 20 years.  The new draft "institutionally" eliminates the original maximum operating period of 60 years.  

Under the new guidelines, Japan will push ahead with the construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants to replace the 20 or so that are nearing the end of their lives, AP reported.  

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would seek public opinion on the basic guidelines for the energy transition and finalize them at a cabinet meeting as early as February before submitting them to parliament for approval.  

The meltdown of reactors 1 to 3 at Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused the worst radiation leak since Chernobyl in the Soviet Union.  

Until then, nuclear power accounted for about 30 percent of Japan's electricity generation.  All nuclear power plants in Japan were suspended after the accident.  At present, 10 of the 33 nuclear power plants have restarted, and seven units are still offline due to opposition from local governments despite meeting the new safety inspection standards.  

According to the Associated Press, the government aims to generate 20% to 22% of Japan's energy from nuclear power by 2030, up from less than 7% today.