Hi! Manager: Lessons that can be learned from nuclear-power-free Japan

According to the Japanese government’s measures for the nuclear crisis, all 50 nuclear reactors have to pass two-stage stress tests to determine the plant’s ability to withstand the earthquake and tsunami before they can resume operations. However, the public concerns about their safety after the Fukushima nuclear disaster have delayed the process to restart the two previously-idle reactors at the Oi Plant in Fukui Prefecture, which cleared the stress tests last month, as the local authorities did not agree to any restart.
In Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, nuclear power supplied about 30 per cent of the country’s electricity before the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe. Japan will enter its summer next month, which will last until September. Summer in Japan is steaming hot because of the high temperature and high humidity. The Japanese government would like to restart two nuclear plants to avoid power shortages in summer. Manufacturing businesses are aware of the colossal consequences of blackouts. But public scepticism of nuclear safety is still high and the calls for a permanent shutdown are getting stronger. It would be interesting to see how the Japanese government, the business circles and the household sector are going to cope with the situation without nuclear power for the first time in four decades.
Amid a power crunch following the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, the Japanese government issued power usage restrictions in June 2011, which gained the good cooperation from both the businesses and the households. The Japanese government reported its findings of a sharp decline in the supply of electricity even in the heat of last summer. Major electricity users were required to implement power consumption-reduction measures during peak times like changing their business hours or setting the air-conditioning temperature at 28 degrees.
The government’s “Super Cool Biz” energy-saving campaign encouraged Japanese businessmen to give up their typical working suits and wear Polo shirts and trainers instead. This campaign kicked off with a government-sponsored fashion show to attract public interest last summer following the “Cool Biz” summer officewear introduced in 2005.
The nuclear crisis has ignited energy conservation awareness among the residents in Japan as their way of life has undergone tremendous changes. LED lighting, which is more energy-saving, has been selling like hot cakes over the past year. It is reported that LED lighting, which had only a 3-per-cent market share in March 2011, skyrocketed to 50 per cent market share in March 2012.
Solar power is on the uptrend as a cleaner renewable energy resource. The sales of apartments and homes equipped with solar panels have been growing. The wind energy industry has also been expanding as crisis-hit Japan is turning to renewable energy to shift away from nuclear power.
Last month, we Thais saw the country’s power consumption peaking for the seventh time, which exceeded the initial prediction of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand for this year, as rising temperature had pushed air-conditioner use to an all-time high. We should closely follow Japan’s energy-saving directions that may result in a major shift in how to approach alternative energy as well as various kinds of energy conservation campaigns. There will surely be good lessons for us to learn for laying the groundwork for both business and private life.   

Panatda Chennavasin is senior vice president for Corporate Strategies and Corporate Relations of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales as well as the director of Isuzu Motors International Operations (Thailand). Her column is published every third Wednesday of the month.