Japan set out to phase out the use of nuclear power plants after the country's worst nuclear accident at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant in March 2011, when the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was in power.

Since the Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in late 2012, however, the country has shifted back to using nuclear plants, as electricity consumption is expected to grow rapidly with the rise of artificial intelligence.

For Sunday's general election, political parties have made various pledges on nuclear power, ranging from abolishing all nuclear plants to maximizing their use, a situation that highlights the difficulty of reaching consensus on the issue.