Nuclear power in Japan

Nuclear power generated 5.55% of Japan's electricity in 2023.

The country's nuclear power industry was heavily influenced by the Fukushima accident, caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Before 2011, Japan was generating up to 30% of its electrical power from nuclear reactors. After the Fukushima accident, all reactors were shut down temporarily. As of November 2024, of the 54 nuclear reactors present in Japan before 2011, there were 33 operable reactors but only 13 reactors in 6 power plants were actually operating. A total of 24 reactors are scheduled for decommissioning or are in the process of being decommissioned. Others are in the process of being reactivated, or are undergoing modifications aimed to improve resiliency against natural disasters; Japan's 2030 energy goals posit that at least 33 will be reactivated by a later date.

The Fukushima accident hardened attitudes toward nuclear power. In June 2011, immediately after the accident, more than 80% of Japanese said they were anti-nuclear and distrusted government information on radiation, but ten years later, in March 2021, only 11 percent of Japanese said they wanted that nuclear energy generation to be discontinued immediately. Another 49 percent were asking for a gradual exit from nuclear energy. In February 2023, a survey by Asahi Shimbun showed that 51% of participants in Japan favored the restart of nuclear plant operations, with 42% opposed.