The government will establish a nationwide system to promote domestic nuclear fusion, which is expected to be a next-generation energy source. An industry-government-academia consultative body will be established by the end of this fiscal year to support the development of cutting-edge technologies, such as compact fusion reactors. As focus on fusion reactors is rapidly increasing overseas, the government aims to increase investment in this field in Japan's public and private sectors.
Unlike with nuclear fission, which uses the energy generated when atomic nuclei are split, fusion harnesses the enormous energy generated when atomic nuclei, such of those of heavy hydrogen atoms, are combined together. It is also called "dream energy" because it produces neither highly radioactive waste nor carbon dioxide.
To make fusion profitable, reactor size will have to shrink and components will have to get more durable. The government aims to push the technology along by drawing private enterprises with various technologies, such as local factories and startups, into the field.
