The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, a domestic nuclear industry body, puts the total number of those employed in nuclear power, including utilities and parts makers, at 46,882
The U.S. nuclear industry, with its 104 reactors, employed 120,000 people in 2009, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. The British nuclear industry, with just 16 reactors, is not too far behind, employing over 90,000 people, though this includes people working indirectly in the industry, according to the country’s Nuclear Industry Association. In France, which has 58 reactors, the overall number is a whopping 410,000, with 125,000 direct employees, according to the French Nuclear Energy Society.
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Fukushima Watch: No Reactors, Fewer Jobs? 13 July 2012 By Eleanor Warnock
Japan may have fired up its first nuclear reactor since the Fukushima Daiichi accident, but the debate over the restarts rumbles on. While safety issues and potential power shortages have dominated the debate so far, another less-discussed issue is the potential impact on employment of trying to keep most or all of the nation’s 50 reactors offline.
Bloomberg News Workers make preparations in front of the emergency operation center at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in February. Local communities hosting nuclear plants typically view them as a major source of employment. Toshie Igari, the head of the Tomioka town assembly in Fukushima Prefecture, said in April 2011 that as many as two in three people in the town would lose their jobs without the nearby nuclear plants.
Local media also reported that the employment situation was one of the main concerns among residents near Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi nuclear plant in western Japan, during discussions with the government about restarting two of the reactors at the facility.
Putting a precise figure on how many people are employed in the nuclear industry is difficult, however.
The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, a domestic nuclear industry body, puts the total number of those employed in nuclear power, including utilities and parts makers, at 46,882, as of the end of fiscal 2010. The Radiation Effects Association, meanwhile, gives a much higher figure of 75,988 for the same year. This government-affiliated organization registers workers involved in radiation-related jobs, but its figure for the nuclear sector may include people who remain registered despite no longer working in the industry.
But an international comparison suggests both numbers are on the low side, especially considering nuclear power accounted for about 30% of Japan’s total power generation before the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
The U.S. nuclear industry, with its 104 reactors, employed 120,000 people in 2009, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. The British nuclear industry, with just 16 reactors, is not too far behind, employing over 90,000 people, though this includes people working indirectly in the industry, according to the country’s Nuclear Industry Association. In France, which has 58 reactors, the overall number is a whopping 410,000, with 125,000 direct employees, according to the French Nuclear Energy Society.
As for the number of companies connected to the nuclear industry, research firm Teikoku Databank found at least 2,258 related businesses in a survey it conducted in June 2011. The firms ranged from parts makers to construction companies. In Fukushima prefecture alone, there were 120 such businesses, the research firm said.
If these figures suggest a fairly sizable impact on employment if reactors stay offline, the nation’s premier believes the overall effect could be even bigger.
“If the price of energy goes up significantly due to an increased dependence on fossil fuel, it will have an impact on retailers and small to medium-sized companies who are just getting by, as well as families. It will speed up the hollowing out of industry and cause a loss of employment opportunities,” Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on national television before approving the first restart.
Others see it differently.
Losing jobs in the nuclear power industry would likely mean an increase in jobs elsewhere. A group of researchers from Osaka University estimate that eliminating nuclear power in Japan by 2020 and increasing renewable energy use to 20% of the total could create 200,000 to 300,000 new jobs annually.
Central Research Institute, Inc., a consulting company in Tokyo, predicts that the renewable energy sector, including wind and solar power, will employ 1.4 million people by 2020, as the renewables market expands in size to ¥50 trillion and beyond.
The Ministry of the Environment, in a report published in 2010, said that increasing the amount of renewable energy to more than 10% of the nation’s total energy output by 2020, could create between 458,000 to 627,000 jobs.
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