Nuclear energy remains a divisive issue more than three years after the March 2011 triple meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration has reversed its predecessor's policy of seeking a phaseout of nuclear power and is pushing to restart nuclear reactors that have been idled in the wake of the 2011 disaster, even as media surveys show a majority of the public remains opposed to reactivating the plants.

The Dec. 14 Lower House election provides voters with a chance to have their say in the nation's energy policy, which not only affects their everyday lives but will have broad long-term social and economic repercussions. The candidates and their parties in the race are urged to clarify their positions and voters should not hesitate to make their voices heard.

The administration's energy policy sounds self-contradictory. Abe pledges to reduce the nation's energy dependency on nuclear power "as much as possible" — without setting specific targets or a timetable — through energy-saving efforts and introduction of renewable energy. But his government's basic energy plan adopted in April — the first since the Fukushima disaster — calls nuclear power an "important baseload source" of the nation's electricity supply. The prime minister is also leading efforts to promote the sale of Japan's nuclear power technology overseas.