Japan nears post-nuclear disaster energy policy

Japan is close to approving a policy that will support the use of nuclear power and guide the country’s consumption and production.

The ruling parties of Japan wrapped up weeks of debate in February on a draft policy that characterized nuclear energy as “an important base-load energy source” before reaching an agreement on Thursday, Bloomberg News reports.

{mosads}The parties will hold meeting with their own members on Thursday to discuss the agreement before the plan is sent to Japan’s Cabinet for approval, said Taku Yamamoto, of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party.

Presently, Japan gets 1.6 percent of its power from wind, solar and other renewable sources. The draft policy included a line that said the country would seek to introduce clean energy at levels that would exceed earlier targets.

After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in 2011, Japan shuttered its nuclear fleet, which the public has remained hesitant to reboot.