Japan

Once on the cusp of a renaissance, the nuclear industry now risks being sent back to the dark ages. This is the impression that emerges from much of the commentary in the months since the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

Before the Deluge “One customer, one product, one general price for 20 years”. You can book it. While it may be nostalgic to think of power in days past, the reality is that we are in the midst of a significant shift in our industry as starkly illustrated in the aftermath of the Japan Crisis (earthquake/tsunami/nuclear). Already, the clouds had been gathering even beforehand – despite the global economic downturn, fuel commodity prices such as for coal and oil were high and resilient and an economic turnaround would have likely resulted in even a greater price surge.

Japan said the Fukushima nuclear incident will not hamper its ongoing negotiations for a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with India.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan believes Japan's energy policy will be the biggest point of contention in the next general election. There is speculation that he may want to dissolve the Lower House over energy policy. Many Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers, now suspect that Kan may be trying to remain in power as long as possible, and that he could dissolve the Lower House for a snap election to appeal to voters who have started calling for use of non-nuclear power in the face of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. But Kan, under strong pressure to quit soon, indicated at the same time that he has no plans to dissolve the House of Representatives for a general election while he is in power. ''How to guide our country's energy policy will probably become the biggest issue in the next national election,'' Kan told a meeting of all lawmakers from his Democratic Party of Japan. Japan's prime minister on Monday created two Cabinet posts to oversee the nuclear crisis and tsunami reconstruction efforts as he hopes to shore up his administration against criticism of its handling of the crises. Prime Minister Naoto Kan named Ryu Matsumoto as reconstruction minister and made Goshi Hosono his minister in charge of handling the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. He also gave special advisory positions to two other senior politicians. The moves are seen as an attempt by Kan to strengthen his hand against a growing number of critics who perceive a lack of leadership following the March 11 disaster. Sixty percent of Japanese voters want Prime Minister Naoto Kan to resign by the end of August, a survey showed, the latest sign of mounting pressure on the unpopular leader to keep a pledge to quit as Japan struggles with reconstruction and a nuclear crisis. A political stalemate over Kan's departure risks slowing efforts to recover from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the consequent radiation crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima nuclear plant, and could delay steps to tackle structural problems including massive public debt.  

The mayor of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, announced that he will agree to allow Kyushu Electric Power Co. to restart the Genkai nuclear power plant's No. 2 and 3 reactors.

A leak at the storage tank to cool the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant has now been fixed.

The Development Bank of Japan will extend a $1.24 billion loan to Chubu Electric Power to purchase alternative sources of power.

Japan will build five new wood combustion power plants in Iwate and Miyagi to clear left-over rubble from the March 11 earthquake.

Kansai Electric will ask businesses and households to voluntarily reduce their power usage this summer by 15%.

A fund will be set up to help Tokyo Electric Power compensate radiation victims of its Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. began operating a ventilation equipment at the No. 2 reactor building of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to reduce radiation levels inside the unit.

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son wants to kick-start large solar power plants in tsunami-hit areas of eastern Japan.

Toshiba Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding to form a business tie-up with South Korean wind-power generation equipment maker Unison Co.

Japan plans to make it compulsory for all new buildings to be fitted with solar panels by 2030.

Toshiba has signed a definitive sales agreement to acquire Landis+Gyr for $2.3 billion in cash.

Hitachi serving as the project leader will coordinate the companies involved.