Tokyo: Japan's industry ministry on Friday unveiled a draft target to rebuild two to five nuclear power reactors by the 2040s, aiming to ensure stable electricity supplies in the future. This marks the first numerical goal for reactor replacement since the severe accident at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. According to Philippines News Agency, by setting a concrete numerical goal, the ministry aims to facilitate securing human resources within the nuclear power industry. The ministry also plans to rebuild an additional nine reactors by the 2050s, raising the total number of reactors subject to replacement to 11-14. The target was part of a draft proposal for revising nuclear energy policy action guidelines, presented at a meeting of a subgroup of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy, which advises the industry minister. The proposal will be formalized at a meeting involving related cabinet ministers. The proposal hi ghlighted concerns about Japan's power supply capacity, which is expected to decline significantly in and after the 2040s due to the decommissioning of reactors that have been operational for 60 years or more. To address this, the ministry proposed the target for replacing nuclear power plants to meet the estimated need for 2.2 million to 5.5 million kilowatts of generation capacity. The draft also emphasizes the safe and steady decommissioning of the tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture as the highest priority. It includes efforts to develop next-generation reactors that are considered safer than current models. In a significant policy shift, the government adopted a new basic energy plan in February 2025, highlighting a policy to maximize the use of nuclear energy. This represents a turnaround from the previous stance to reduce the nation's dependence on nuclear power, following the Fukushima incident. The government has set a target of increasing the share of nucl ear power in the country's energy supply mix to about 20 percent by fiscal 2040, up from 9.4 percent in fiscal 2024.