The final draft of the government’s new energy policy clearly states that nuclear power is “an important base load power source” and nuclear power plants should resume operations after their safety is confirmed, but the draft fails to mention specific goals or figures concerning the use of nuclear power.

The plan, which serves as a guideline of the nation’s new medium- to long-term basic energy program, was decided on by the government Tuesday. A “base load electricity source” is a power source that will lead to a stable supply of electricity by providing a certain amount of power continuously. Other than nuclear power, sources of power include coal, hydropower and geothermal power generations.

The Liberal Democratic Party’s ruling coalition partner, New Komeito, insists that nuclear power generation must be stopped immediately, and it opposed to a draft compiled previously by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry’s expert panel in December, claiming the description in the draft that nuclear power is a “fundamental and important base power source” leans too much on the dependence on nuclear power. Therefore, the word “fundamental” was eliminated from the final draft.

But the government’s draft keeps a policy of using nuclear power, following the expert panel’s draft. After obtaining approval from the ruling parties, the government’s draft is expected to be approved by the Cabinet in March. The draft is expected to support the use of nuclear power plants and power companies’ efforts to reactivate them, in contrast to the zero nuclear power policy by the former administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan.

According to the Nuclear Regulation Authority, there is no clear prospect for completing the safety screening necessary to restart nuclear power plants, including those operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Kansai Electric Power Co.

However, the government is steadily paving the way for resuming nuclear power plant operations. Economy minister Toshimitsu Motegi said, “If the NRA provides a prospect of when it will finish screenings, it will help power companies outline their corporate management strategy for the future.”

Meanwhile, the power industry has expressed concerns that the government’s policy regarding the construction of new nuclear power plants or additional reactors at existing plants is still unclear. Makoto Yagi, KEPCO’s president and the head of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, has said, “It is important to secure a certain scale of nuclear power generating capacity in the future.”

Of 48 nuclear reactors in the nation, three have been operating for more than 40 years—the operation time limit set by the NRA. Thirteen reactors have been operating for more than 30 years. Thus, some in the industry insist that construction of new nuclear plants or additional reactors at existing plants is necessary to ensure a stable energy supply.

The government’s final draft only states it will determine the scale of nuclear power facilities needed to be secured, but does not mention how much nuclear power should account for in proportion to other sources overall in the future. Though the draft has a positive connotation concerning new or additional construction of nuclear power plants or reactors, it left the power industry with what a federation’s senior official calls “a state of great uncertainty.”

The government will begin discussing the power source composition, which may face rough waters as the government has to consider the opinions of political parties and the public.