New industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura has pledged to secure stable energy supplies for Japan, including through an increased use of nuclear power.
Japan appears to have enough energy to get through the scorching summer, but the reserve rate of electricity will dwindle further this winter, as most of the nuclear power plants in the country remain offline due to stricter safety regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
An increasing number of aging thermal power plants in the country have also been shut down.