Japan says it will increase its reliance on nuclear energy in a major policy shift as it seeks to meet growing demand from power-hungry sectors like AI and semiconductors.An energy plan approved by the cabinet on Tuesday called for "maximising the use of nuclear energy" and dropped reference to "reducing reliance on nuclear energy".

The UN nuclear watchdog chief visited Japan's stricken Fukushima plant on Wednesday, the day after Tokyo approved an energy plan that marks a return to nuclear power. Under the plan, nuclear power will account for around 20 percent of Japan's energy supply by 2040,

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is monitoring Japan’s efforts to decommission the Fukushima plant after a 2011 earthquake-triggered tsunami killed 18,000 people and set off the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

On 11 March, 2011, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake sent a tsunami hurtling towards Japan's east coast, killing 20,000 people, wiping out 120,000 buildings and sparking a partial meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.