Amid an energy crunch that served a severe blow to Japan’s economy, the government in Tokyo is considering extending the lives of the country’s nuclear power plant fleet beyond the maximum current lifespan of 60 years. According to local reports cited by Reuters, the plan is to remove the limits on nuclear power plants’ lifetimes as a whole, which would open the door to serial extensions of these lifetimes. The changes will need to be approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Japan has 33 nuclear reactors, of which four have received approval to operate for a period of 60 years. This represents an extension on their original 40-year lifespans, as stipulated in the current nuclear power regulation that was implemented after the Fukushima tragedy. Currently, the regulations only allow one 20-year extension after the original 40-year period. Nuclear power has been an essential part of Japan’s energy mic because […]