nuclear-news

 Japan is set to go completely nuclear-free as of this Saturday, a little more than a year after an earthquake and tsunami led to a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. That disaster, the worst nuclear incident since the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown, sparked widespread opposition to nuclear power in Japan, despite the country receiving as much as 30 per cent of its power from nuclear sources. Ever since last March, plants have been gradually taken offline, with the last of the 50 to be shuttered this weekend. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has vowed to have that 30 per cent be produced by hydro, solar, wind, and other renewable sources, but in the meantime, Japan has had to rely on imports of oil and gas to keep the planet’s third-largest economy running. That practice led Japan into its biggest trade deficit ever, as the cost of importing such fuels costs as much as $100 million extra a day. But at least they won’t be facing any more nuclear disasters anytime soon.