Under a blueprint credited to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan aims to increase electricity from its traditional power sources of nuclear, coal and hydroelectricity from 40% of the existing power mix to 60% by 2030.

According to press reports the plans are expected to be finalised in Spring. While there was official confirmation last week that cesium-134 and cesium-137 isotope radiation from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster had been detected on the coast of Canada’s British Columbia, environmental groups seem to be making more noise about plans to ramp up coal-fired power.

Kyoto-based climate-fearing organisation Kiko Network said Japan had 43 coal power projects either under construction or planned.

“These projects, which may still be operating in 2050, run counter to Japan’s efforts to tackle climate change and should be quickly reviewed or stopped,” Kiko said.

Meanwhile, the Asahi newspaper claimed that nuclear might need to represent 20% of the total power mix by 2030 due to the emissions policy pressure of burning coal and the difficulty of finding any spare hydro capacity from Japan’s highly dammed rivers.