Japan will develop nuclear energy, including the design and construction of new reactors, which is necessary to create a green economy, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday.

“Nuclear and renewable energy are critical to continue the green transformation of the economy,” he was quoted as saying by The Japan Times.

He noted that Japan will restart seven more nuclear reactors from the summer of 2023. Thus, the number of reactors returned to work after the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in March 2011 will increase to 17 out of 33 reactors in Japan.

It also became known to the Japanese media earlier that Tokyo plans to increase the life of reactors from the current limit of 60 years in order to ensure stable energy supplies and reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Prior to this, the Japanese government set a goal of achieving a 20-22% share of nuclear energy in the country’s energy balance in fiscal year 2030.

The Japan Times recalls that the Japanese authorities this year faced a shortage of fuel to generate electricity, as well as abnormal heat, which worsened the situation. Tokyo has had to deal with a power crisis twice, including in late June during the worst heat wave in more than a century.