Germany Chancellor plans lithium deal with Serbia after Rio ruling
Olaf Scholz plans to visit Serbia this week to secure supplies of lithium that are critical for the nation’s energy transition and auto industry.
Less than two weeks following its election to office Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has announced that it could discard plans drafted by the previous administration for the phasing-out of nuclear power.
The BBC reports that Japan’s new trade and industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi has said that reactors will be restarted if they are deemed safe by nuclear power regulators.
“We need to reconsider the previous administration’s policy that aimed to make zero nuclear power operation possible during the 2030’s” said Motegi at a press conference.
Big business is also calling for a revival of nuclear power, with corporations footing the bill for increased energy costs following the shut down of all but two of Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Japan had previously relied upon nuclear power for nearly one third of its energy needs.
Support for nuclear power in Japan amongst the general public has plunged following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which saw violent tsunamis triggered the biggest reactor meltdown since the Chernobyl disaster in the 1980’s.
A revival of nuclear power in Japan was broadly anticipated by pundits prior to the LDP election victory, as the party has long been sympathetic to both nuclear energy and business interests.
