A government panel in Japan on Monday stuck to a nuclear power target of 20-22 percent two days after 12 people were injured during a massive earthquake that shook buildings in Tokyo.
The earthquake was powerful, registering a magnitude of 7.8. But the epicenter was in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, 542 miles from Tokyo.
By comparison, the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, which set off events that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, registered a magnitude of 9.0 with an epicenter just 43 miles from the Oshika Peninsula of Tohoku, home of the Onagawa Nuclear Power Station. An International Atomic Energy Agency report said that the Onagawa plant was “remarkably undamaged” by the 2011 earthquake, which killed approximately 16,000 people.
Reports from Japan said there was no threat of a tsunami event resulting from Saturday’s earthquake. The damage from the quake was largely a matter of inconvenience, including 400 people trapped on the observation deck of the Tokyo Tower, due to elevators shutting down.
For a month, beginning on Tuesday, the public will have a chance to respond to the government’s target for nuclear power. Prior to March 2011, nuclear power accounted for 30 percent of the county’s electricity generation.
Besides the target for nuclear power, the government is expecting renewable sources to make up 22-24 percent of the electricity used in the country. Liquefied natural gas is expected to make up 27 percent and coal 26 percent.