Former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda called for Japan to deepen its national discussion on nuclear power to ensure energy security and price stability.

Fukuda's warnings highlight a persistent vulnerability in Japan's energy infrastructure. By advocating for a renewed nuclear debate, he suggests that the country cannot achieve true economic stability while remaining susceptible to external shocks in the global oil market.

Speaking as part of a series for the 150th anniversary of Nikkei [2], Fukuda drew on his personal professional history to contextualize the current crisis. He recalled his time at Maruzen Oil, a domestic company without international capital, during the first oil crisis in 1973 [1].

Fukuda said that his experiences during that era revealed the dangers of over-reliance on a single region for energy needs. He said that Japan has not sufficiently moved away from its dependence on Middle Eastern oil since that period. This reliance, he said, leaves the Japanese economy exposed to geopolitical volatility that can trigger sudden price spikes.

To mitigate these risks, Fukuda said the government and the public must engage in a more rigorous debate regarding the role of nuclear energy. He positioned nuclear power as a necessary component of a diversified energy portfolio that would reduce the impact of foreign oil fluctuations on domestic prices.

While the debate over nuclear energy remains polarized in Japan, Fukuda said that the lack of a stable, domestic energy source is a strategic liability. He said that the memory of the 1973 crisis should serve as a guide for current policy decisions regarding the transition to more sustainable and secure power sources.

“Japan's continued dependence on Middle Eastern oil threatens national energy security.”

Fukuda's call for a nuclear revival reflects a long-standing tension in Japanese policy between the safety concerns following the 2011 Fukushima disaster and the strategic necessity of energy independence. By linking current vulnerabilities to the 1973 oil crisis, he frames nuclear energy not merely as a technical choice, but as a matter of national security in an increasingly unstable global energy market.