Ditching Nuclear Risks Third Lost Decade in Japan on Oil

Japan faces a third “lost decade” of economic growth as rising energy costs resulting from its shift away from nuclear power add to a fuel bill that already accounts for more than a quarter of its imports.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s effort to reduce reliance on nuclear energy would require the equivalent of 470 million barrels of oil a year, swelling the 17 trillion yen ($222 billion) annual cost of fuel imports and further burdening Japan’s $5.5 trillion economy, former Saudi Arabian Oil Co. manager Osamu Fujisawa said.