The Japanese Government will call nuclear energy an “important” source of power in an upcoming energy plan, abandoning a policy of phasing it out, Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was quoted as saying on Friday.

A Government panel working on a draft of the long-term energy plan will urge the country to continue to use nuclear power, the minister told a news conference, according to Kyodo News agency.

“I understand that discussions by the panel are heading toward labeling nuclear power as an important and basic power source,” Kyodo quoted him as saying.

The previous Government led by the Democratic Party of Japan had said it wanted to boost the country’s use of nuclear power from 30 to 50 per cent of its electricity in 2030.

The DPJ-led Government, however, decided to phase out nuclear power by the 2030s after the 2011 triple reactor meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors have been suspended for maintenance and are required to clear tougher guidelines introduced earlier this year to be restarted.

Experts said power companies could be forced to scrap some of the reactors.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Government, led by the Liberal Democratic Party since elections in 2012, is expected to adopt the new basic energy policy in January.

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