Fukushima still looms over energy decisions

Japan ignores strategic low-carbon energy options and risks muddling through by adding more coal

The surprise resignation of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe due to illness, just over a year before elections scheduled for October 2021, creates possible inflection points for a policy overhaul in a country dogged by energy insecurity. Yet Japan’s conservative and self-reinforcing political culture, in which getting along is more important than strategic vision, means we are likely to see more of the same. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will choose a successor to Abe on 14 September, with chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga favoured to take over and therefore likely be in power until the elections. If Suga is able to provide a sense of continuity with Abe's tenure, it w