Can Quake-Prone Japan Ever Embrace Nuclear Energy Again?

A decade after one of the most devastating atomic-energy disasters in history, Japan was finally getting closer to reviving nuclear power.

Around 2022, a majority of the public began to express support for restarting the nation’s nuclear plants, most of which have remained offline since an earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima Prefecture in 2011. Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, or L.D.P.,pushed forward with plans to not only restart idled plants, but also build new ones.

The long-ruling party made an urgent call to advance nuclear energy, which it said would help the heavily fossil-fuel-dependent country meet growing energy demands and fulfill its pledge to cut carbon emissions.

Then, this year, a series of disasters reminded many in Japan of their deep fears about nuclear energy, and the Liberal Democrats lost their majority in the influential lower chamber of Parliament. The fate of nuclear power in the country is again uncertain.

In January, the deadliest earthquake in over a decade struck the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s northwest coast. More than 400 people died, and many buildings were damaged, including an idled nuclear power plant.

In August, a tremor in southern Japan prompted experts to warn that a long-anticipated megaquake, predicted to kill hundreds of thousands, could be imminent.