# Japan is shutting down ALL its nuclear plants **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-is-shutting-down-all-its-nuclear-plants/615235 "2012-03-09T05:03:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-is-shutting-down-all-its-nuclear-plants/615235/1 "2012-03-09T05:03:07Z")
Interesting story from the [NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/world/asia/japan-shutting-down-its-nuclear-power-industry.html). There are two plants out of 54 still running and they are scheduled to be shut down soon. It’s unclear if or when any of them will be put back online. The prime minister is advocating getting them running again as soon as possible, but apparently local officials will decide on a case by case basis. Here is more or less the core of the story, or as much as I’m willing to copy: > [@](#): > > …Political and energy experts describe nothing short of a nationwide loss of faith, not only in Japan’s once-vaunted nuclear technology but also in the government, which many blame for allowing the accident to happen. > > “March 11 has shaken Japan to the root of its postwar identity,” said Takeo Kikkawa, an economist who specializes in energy issues at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. “We were the country that suffered Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but then we showed we had the superior technology and technocratic expertise to safely tame this awesome power for peaceful economic progress. … It does appear that economic realities will eventually force reopening of some or all of the plants. Also, there’s not a word about global warming or greenhouse gasses, which I find interesting. But really a fascinating story, and I hadn’t heard a whisper of it until this story.