UN watchdog chief visits Fukushima as Japan returns to nuclear power

IAEA monitors Japan's Fukushima decommissioning, as Japan plans to increase reliance on nuclear power for energy needs.

The UN nuclear watchdog chief visited Japan's stricken Fukushima plant on Wednesday (February 19, 2025) the day after Tokyo approved an energy plan that marks a return to nuclear power.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is monitoring Japan's efforts to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi plant after a 2011 earthquake-triggered tsunami killed 18,000 people and set off the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Explained | The Fukushima N-wastewater controversy

As IAEA head Rafael Grossi arrived in Japan on Tuesday, the cabinet adopted a plan to increase reliance on nuclear power to help meet growing energy demand from artificial intelligence and microchip factories.

"At a moment where Japan is embarking on a gradual return to nuclear energy in its national energy mix, it is important that this is also done in complete safety and with the confidence of the society," Grossi said after meeting the foreign minister.

Japan had previously vowed to "reduce reliance on nuclear power as much as possible".

But this pledge was dropped from the latest Strategic Energy Plan — which includes an intention to make renewables the country's top power source by 2040.