TOKYO - With eight days remaining until votes are cast in the House of Representatives election, concerns are mounting over future strains on Japan’s power supply, prompting renewed attention to how political parties position their energy policies, particularly on nuclear power.
About an hour’s drive from central Tokyo, the cityscape of Inzai in Chiba Prefecture has been rapidly transformed, as rows of gray, box-like buildings dominate what was once a quiet residential area, housing data centers that support internet servers and AI computing.
“These buildings weren’t here before. Everything has completely changed,” a local resident said, reflecting unease at the pace of development.
Around 30 data centers operated by companies including Google and Amazon are now clustered in the city, and their rapid expansion is reshaping Japan’s energy outlook. According to Atsushi Sakurai, head of KDDI’s service platform planning office, data centers and servers consume enormous amounts of electricity, making power supply a growing challenge.
The facilities require large amounts of electricity for cooling alone, with a single data center consuming as much power as up to 12,000 households, while further expansion of AI is expected to push overall electricity demand up by as much as 20% over the next two decades.
Against this backdrop, political parties are sharpening their positions. The Liberal Democratic Party has reiterated its stance on promoting nuclear power, saying it will continue to restart reactors with the understanding of local communities, while Nippon Ishin no Kai has also voiced strong support for reactor restarts.
In addition to the ruling parties, the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito, the Conservative Party of Japan, and Mirai have all argued that nuclear power remains essential. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which previously called for a nuclear-free Japan, has shifted its position after merging with Komeito to form a centrist reform alliance, now allowing reactor restarts under strict conditions.
Party officials stressed that the requirement for effective evacuation plans remains unchanged, but critics say the revised wording effectively opens the door to restarts.
Public confidence in power utilities, however, has been shaken. Fifteen years after the Fukushima nuclear accident, Tokyo Electric Power Company restarted the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant earlier this month, only to suspend operations again after a malfunction occurred five hours later. In another case, Chubu Electric Power admitted to falsifying data during the screening process for restarting the Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, prompting its president Shingo Hayashi to issue a public apology.
The Japanese Communist Party has taken a firm stance against nuclear power, pledging to oppose restarts and new construction while aiming for a nuclear-free Japan, a position echoed by Reiwa Shinsengumi, the Social Democratic Party, and Yukoku, all of which advocate the expansion of renewable energy.
Yet renewables face their own hurdles, as rising material costs have forced major companies to withdraw from offshore wind projects, while solar power developments have increasingly run into environmental concerns.
As energy policy becomes ever more closely tied to daily life, voters are being asked to weigh difficult trade-offs between nuclear power, renewable energy, and the growing electricity demands driven by AI.
Source: TBS
