Japan Deregulates Its Electricity Sector

Resource-poor Japan has taken a step to revitalize its domestic energy sector. In mid-November, Japan's upper house of parliament approved a comprehensive reform of the country's electricity sector. The reforms mark another step in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party's economic revitalization plan, which has also included fiscal and monetary stimulus packages. The reform plan calls for near-complete deregulation of the sector in the hopes that it will lead to increased efficiency and lower energy prices. Even if this part of the plan proves successful, many of the problems with the sector are structural — namely the resumption of nuclear power and the high cost of importing natural gas and oil, which must be addressed eventually to put the country on a more sustainable path for its energy needs.