The history of the development of nuclear
power in Japan includes both international and
domestic events. Also notable is the ongoing tension between anti-nuclear activism and pro-nuclear energy pressures.
A key issue for modern Japan has been resources. Those who support nuclear power for Japan argue for energy independence. Currently, imports meet 90% of Japanese energy needs.
However, how can people in Japan support nuclear power when there is still the ongoing challenge of an incredibly expensive and vast cleanup of Fukushima Daiichi?
A big historical question is how Japan came to have nuclear power plants in the first place, considering the history of not only Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also of the "Lucky Dragon."'Lucky Dragon'.
The story of how
communities allowed nuclear power plants
to be built had to do with local economies and the pressures put on
them, which were also linked with global movements (such as the
political control of oil).
Here is a timeline about nuclear power in Japan that we will discuss in class:
1945: Nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1945-1952: The Allied Occupation of Japan
1952: Ban on nuclear power in Japan lifted
1954: Nakasone Yasuhiro requests yen from the National Diet for
nuclear research. In March, the "Lucky Dragon Incident" strengthens
popular resistance to nuclear power, but the Diet budgets money for
nuclear research.
1955-1965: Japan shifts from relying almost entirely upon coal to generate electricity to using more and more oil.
1973: First "oil shock"
mid-1970s: Opinion polls in Japan show that 70 percent of residents supported Japan's continued nuclear power program
1979: Second "oil shock"
1980: Three Mile Island Accident. In November, opinion polls in
Japan show that only 30 percent of residents supported Japan's continued
nuclear power program.
This history helps us understand how Japan can have a "nuclear allergy"
and yet also continue a nuclear power program. This is the history
behind the news about restarting nuclear power plants in Japan now. Knowing more about this will help you to inform your own opinion about the future of nuclear power in Japan and in the world.
