Affected by rare high temperature weather and aging thermal power plants, Japan may face continued power supply shortages this summer. To this end, the Japanese government launched a three-month national power-saving season on July 1, with the participation of households and businesses. This is the first time Japan has restarted the national power saving season since 2015.
html On June 26, pedestrians walked past the water spray device used to cool down the streets in Japan. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoyu According to Kyodo News, the Japanese government has not set specific goals for the national electricity saving season, but calls on the public to reduce electricity consumption as much as possible without affecting life and economic activities.
Since June, Japan has encountered rare high temperature weather, with the highest temperature in many places exceeding 35 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature in Tokyo on June 30 reached 36.4 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature in June since records began in 1875. Affected by the persistent high temperature, Tokyo Electric Power Company has issued a power supply shortage alarm for 4 consecutive days since June 27. Although the alert was lifted on July 1, there is still a risk of power shortage due to aging thermal power stations.
The weather forecast shows that the heat will continue for some time. To prevent heatstroke , Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recommends that people use air conditioners rationally, turn off non-essential lamps, and do not set the refrigerator temperature too low. It is especially recommended to actively save electricity around 17:00 to 20:00 when solar power generation declines.
html On March 22, in order to save electricity, a shopping mall in Tokyo, Japan closed part of the display TV. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoyu In order to encourage energy conservation, some power suppliers in Japan launched a points campaign in July. The Japanese government will also provide rebates worth 2,000 yen (approximately 99 yuan) to households that participate in energy conservation in August.
On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred in the waters near Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The huge tsunami triggered by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant caused a core meltdown of units 1 to 3 of the nuclear power plant. Since then, most nuclear power plants in Japan have been shut down, and the government has repeatedly made demands for power conservation. In 2016, some nuclear power plants were restarted, and the Japanese government no longer proposed nationwide power conservation requirements.
