, Columnist
How Japan Became the Land That the Energy Transition Forgot
It’s hard to believe the nation that invented the lithium-ion battery, the hybrid car and solar-powered calculator has fallen so far behind.
Playing catch up.
Photographer: Sorichiro Koriyama/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After a tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor in 2011, the world’s third- and fourth-largest exporters decided on radical changes to their energy policies. Both agreed that a break was needed from the grids of the past. In every other way, the approaches couldn’t have been more different.
Japan shut down its nuclear sector almost immediately, and made up most of the difference by burning more coal. Germany announced a slower nuclear phaseout, along with support for the nascent wind and solar industries. Twelve years later, the differences are stark.