Japan's cabinet is pushing a soft cap of 40 years on nuclear plants before they have to be shut down. The legislation includes a exemption for plants that pass a stringent bout of safety tests.
This legislation is one of the steps in the government's plan to improve safety after the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11th. At the moment Japan is one of the few developed countries that does not have a cap in place to determine how long their nuclear reactors should stay operational.
The bill resembles one already in place in the U.S. The difference is that in America 66 out of 104 reactors were granted extensions; in Japan, such extensions will be much more rare, says the government.
The controversy lies in the stress tests that determine if the reactors should keep running or not. Many think they are not complete enough, and that they only test certain areas of the reactor. Some experts think that tests need to be redesigned to include all areas of the reactor to be more effective.
The problem, says the government, is that if the 36 of 54 reactors in Japan that are scheduled to be shut down within their 40 year timeframe do actually shut down by their 2030 deadline, Japan will not have enough energy to run the country. Reducing reliance on nuclear power is important, but officials say it cannot happen overnight. The 40 year cap is a step in the right direction, but officials say coming up with a new energy plan that includes less nuclear power is going to happen soon.
