14 Years After Fukushima: How the Disaster Shaped Taiwan's Nuclear Policy

TaiwanPlus News

Fourteen years after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, we look into how the disaster affected Taiwan. The 2011 accident sparked widespread fear and a resurgence of anti-nuclear protests, leading to the suspension of Taiwan’s fourth nuclear plant, which was never restarted. The ruling DPP has pledged to phase out nuclear energy by 2025. But as Taiwan’s high-tech industry demands more electricity, questions remain about the role of nuclear in the country’s energy policies.

Transcript

00:00Destruction across Japan.

00:04On March 11, 2011, the country was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, which triggered

00:09a massive tsunami, killing over 18,000 people and causing the second largest nuclear accident

00:16in history.

00:18Tsunami waves knocked out emergency generators at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on

00:22Japan's east coast, sending three of the plant's reactors into meltdown and leading to hydrogen

00:27explosions.

00:28Radioactive material leaked out of the plant, and over 100,000 people were evacuated.

00:34As details of the disaster emerged, fear spread across to neighboring Taiwan.

00:38People are really scared of what was happening in Japan at that time, because for many Taiwanese,

00:47Japan represents a very advanced nation.

00:52This really changed a lot of Taiwanese people's perception of the safety of nuclear energy.

01:01In the days, weeks, and years after the accident, there was a resurgence of anti-nuclear activism

01:06in Taiwan, which had not been seen for years.

01:23At the time, Taiwan had three nuclear plants, with a fourth under construction.

01:29The issue was controversial, especially the fourth plant, with opinion mostly split along

01:33party lines—the Kuomintang more pro-nuclear, and the DPP generally against it.

01:38But Fukushima sparked a change in Taiwan's nuclear politics, too, leading the then-ruling

01:43KMT to become divided on this issue, according to Professor Ho of National Taiwan University.

01:48Ultimately, in 2014, following major anti-nuclear protests, the KMT government suspended the

01:54plant's construction.

01:55It was never restarted.

01:57So you can say that around Japan's East Asian neighbors, even including Japan itself,

02:04so there had been a surgence of post-Fukushima anti-nuclear mobilization.

02:10But its major, the biggest impact was actually in Taiwan.

02:15In power since 2016, the DPP government pledged to phase out nuclear power by this year, 2025.

02:21Now, there's only one nuclear reactor still operating in Taiwan, set to be decommissioned

02:27in May.

02:28But Taiwan's high-tech economy, led by companies like TSMC, is using more power than ever,

02:33trying to replace nuclear with natural gas.

02:36It's raised questions about how much power Taiwan really needs, where that power should

02:40come from, and if the country can meet its climate goals while powering its crucial semiconductor

02:46If there's no water, no electricity, no talent, how can we keep the power?

02:50Then there's a possibility that more and more industries and key technologies will be moved out of the country.

02:55Nuclear power is an option that Taiwan must face.

02:58If we're talking about electricity, Taiwan really doesn't lack electricity.

03:02What Taiwan lacks is green electricity.

03:04Fourteen years after the tsunami, the mark left by the Fukushima accident is still felt,

03:09not just in Japan, but around the world.

03:12Justin Wu, Chris Gorin, and Cadence Caronta for Taiwan Plus.

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