Japan’s nuclear energy industry in danger of shutting down

New York Times : The loss of public confidence in nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster may lead to an energy crisis in Japan. Of that nation’s 54 commercial nuclear reactors, all but two have been shut down over this past year, and by next month they may all be. By law, Japan’s nuclear plants are required to go offline every 13 months for regular checkups. But after the problems suffered at the Fukushima plant last March, none of the plants that have been shut down have been restarted because of opposition from local residents. Although Japan once depended on nuclear power for a third of its electricity, the country has been compensating for its loss by imposing strict conservation methods and by relying more on plants that burn fossil fuels. Nevertheless, with most of Japan’s nuclear power plants now offline and warm weather approaching, a crisis may be at hand, so public officials are instigating stress tests on all the plants in an effort to allay the public’s fears about restarting them.