We used to think that japan has very little natural resources so the power must be generated using resources using imported materials such as oil and gas. That was one of the biggest drive to push Japan into using nuclear power.
With new technologies and researches, there are more resources arrounding Japan. There is not need to rely on nuclear enegergy ,... but because there are so many companies relying on the nuclear businesses, Japan cannot just drop nuclear solutions.
There is a separation of religion and government, there should be a separation of business and government. Government is not bad. Business is not bad. But when they work together, bad things happen.