One of Japan's nuclear power plant
What is Japan without nuclear reactors?
This question is being asked since we all know that resource-poor and energy-hungry Japan can’t seem to do without nuclear power, a technology that had provided a third of its electricity until the 3/11 disaster at Fukushima.
But, bite the bullet Japan did when it switched off the nation's last operating nuclear reactor leaving this third largest economic giant without atomic power for the first time in more than 40 years.
Anti-nuke protest symbol
This came on the heels of a massive march by Japanese anti-nuke activists in Tokyo, waving traditional koinobori fish banners that now double as symbols of the anti-nuclear protest movement.
“A new era in Japan with no nuclear power has begun,” said Gyoshu Otsu, a 56-year-old monk who joined a protest against nuclear power in front of the industry ministry in Tokyo which supervises the nation’s power utilities.
Protest organizer Masao Kimura said: “It’s a symbolic day today. Now we can prove that we will be able to live without nuclear power.”
As the reactor shuts down, Japan’s entire stable of 54 reactors will be offline.But, is this move for good?
Most likely, it isn’t and will not be or it will have a dire effect on Japan’s economy that will reverberate all over the world, especially within members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international economic organization founded to stimulate economic progress and world trade.
Japan can't simply afford to be without nuclear power reactors for long to sustain their standing as a nation.
Some of the plants now off line will eventually go back in service, but only after passing new safety tests and gaining the approval of local residents.
Most importantly, the reactors must now pass International Atomic Energy Agency-approved stress tests.
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