Japan has been a major contributor to International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), under construction in France, which aims for first plasma in 2035.

The survey asked respondents if rising energy costs following the Russian invasion of Ukraine had become a burden in their daily lives. The results showed that 81% said they felt a greater burden, while only 18% said they did not.

Under the new policy, Japan will also develop and construct "next-generation innovative reactors" to replace about 20 reactors that are set to be decommissioned.

DOE noted the significance of the Government of Japan’s announcement of its “Draft Future Nuclear Energy Direction and Action Guidelines” in December 2022.

Under the new policy - which describes nuclear power as "a power source that contributes to energy security and has a high decarbonisation effect" - Japan will maximise the use of existing reactors by restarting as many of them as possible and prolonging the operating life of aging ones beyond the current 60-year limit.

The deals come as Japan’s government is reevaluating how it can enhance energy security in the face of a fuel crunch at home. Global LNG supply is slated to remain tight for years, which threatens to increase import costs and add to rising inflation.

The 2023 contractual expiries represent roughly 8% of Japan's annual LNG imports of around 74 million mt, a level that will likely be difficult to replace with incremental supply from other long-term term contracts and short-to-mid-term contracts amid tight LNG markets.

Japan has many years of experience operating the High-Temperature Test Reactor (HTTR), a 30 MWt prototype graphite-moderated helium gas-cooled reactor, and Poland has been working with Japan for several years on the potential implementation of such technology.

Japan aims to expand offshore wind energy capacity to 10 GW by 2030 and 30-45 GW by 2040.

Japan sees an equity stake in the Sakhalin 1 oil, gas project important as it relies around 95% on Middle Eastern oil imports.