Only viable option for future

To meet China's soaring energy needs, ambitious plans have been drawn up to support the expansion of nuclear power generation

This month the first of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors came back online more than a year after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan. Before the reopening of the reactor at the Ohi plant in western Japan, the country had been without any nuclear-generated electricity for the first time since 1970.

As a result the country's reliance on fossil fuel imports soared. Oil and gas imports more than doubled on the previous year, contributing directly to the country's record trade deficit of $32 billion.