People all over the world today feel a strong sense of crisis about nuclear power generation
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2025 10:53 am
Should nuclear power plants continue to exist, or should they be abolished? In order for the public, who will ultimately have to pay the price, to make this decision, they must first find out whether the government and nuclear industry's claim that "if nuclear power plants disappear, there will not be enough electricity" is true or not. If we neglect to make an effort to find out, the decision will once again be left in the hands of bureaucrats and the nuclear industry.
Many media outlets, including newspapers and television, are still sounding the alarm about the power shortage, and between the lines of their articles they hint at the need for nuclear power. Some media outlets remove background image even directly advocate restarting nuclear power, stating in an article under the headline "We must not ignore the power shortage that is driving the manufacturing industry into a corner" that "Nuclear power accounts for 30% of the electricity supply, and cannot be made up for by restarting suspended thermal power plants or natural energy sources such as solar power. The only way to prevent the power shortage from worsening in the immediate future is to restart nuclear power plants" (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, June 17).
Are these claims based on fact?
The data compiled by Tokyo Electric Power Company, "Power Generation Facility Output by Energy Type," lists the company's output by source. Power sources can be broadly categorized into four types: "hydroelectric," "thermal," "nuclear," and "new energy, etc." The figures shown on the left are the figures listed for output facilities in fiscal 2009 (the figures in parentheses include electricity received from other companies).
Many media outlets, including newspapers and television, are still sounding the alarm about the power shortage, and between the lines of their articles they hint at the need for nuclear power. Some media outlets remove background image even directly advocate restarting nuclear power, stating in an article under the headline "We must not ignore the power shortage that is driving the manufacturing industry into a corner" that "Nuclear power accounts for 30% of the electricity supply, and cannot be made up for by restarting suspended thermal power plants or natural energy sources such as solar power. The only way to prevent the power shortage from worsening in the immediate future is to restart nuclear power plants" (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, June 17).
Are these claims based on fact?
The data compiled by Tokyo Electric Power Company, "Power Generation Facility Output by Energy Type," lists the company's output by source. Power sources can be broadly categorized into four types: "hydroelectric," "thermal," "nuclear," and "new energy, etc." The figures shown on the left are the figures listed for output facilities in fiscal 2009 (the figures in parentheses include electricity received from other companies).