Japan to phase out nuclear power

Japan to phase out nuclear power

Japan will phase out nuclear power before 2040, the government said on Friday, a major policy shift and the first formal decision to retreat from atomic energy since the disaster at Fukushima 18 months ago. The plan, which was opposed by business groups and questioned by officials from the US, the UK and France, means Japan will join Germany as the second major economy to turn away from nuclear power since last year’s accident. Tokyo’s timetable is much slower than Berlin’s, however. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, ordered half her country’s nuclear plants to be shut off last year and pledged to replace the rest with renewable energy sources over the next decade. Japan’s plan would give it almost two more decades to accomplish the same goal. http://link.ft.com/r/FG6LAA/KQKAO2/C5MKOT/QN7VCD/RPNNAP/9A/h?a1=2012&a2=9&a3=14