Japan has been severely crippled, this not only by a devastating earthquake followed by a tsunami and a nuclear disaster that is still ongoing. Moreover, it is now losing countless customers through out Japan and the world. Its industry has been severely damaged and in part even destroyed to the point that it will never be able to recover its loses or regain lost customers. Rebuilding will take two years at least, by then it will be next to impossible to retake once former position.
Even if the factories are rebuild and back in operation with in a year, the power supply to run those factories wont be back up by then, especially not if we rely on nuclear power and want to rebuild new nuclear power station risking yet another disaster down the road.
There is an alternative though. If we where to implement a national restructuring plan we could rebuild Japan and end up using this disaster to our advantage by revolutionizing the socio-political and energy make up of this country.
“Two roads diverge in a wood and I took the one less travelled by. And that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost.
What does the world need most and that every one seeks? It is not cars, nor computers or fish. The world needs power, in form of energy to power its cars, computers, lights and machines as well as its hospitals and food processing plants.
Japan has no oil, uranium, or gas but it does have know how and it is an Island state that is blessed with massive energies such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, a moderate climate and much more. Giving it the potential to become energy self sufficient with in two years.
This would allow Japan to strive again and emerge from the ashes as an energy self sufficient nation and to export its technology as well as it energy revolution. Not only would Japan become the leader in this sector, furthermore, it would be solving many environmental and health related problem at the same time, all the wile saving trillions of Yen in the long run and allowing Japan to witness an international comeback exceeding it growth of the 1960 by several times and maybe even surpassing China anew.
Today Japan is the third largest Industrial power in the World and yet only the eleventh largest investor into renewable energies, relying far more on fossil fuels such as oil, propane and uranium than its main competitors.
This will cost Japan dearly in the long run and cause it to lose its competitiveness with in the next decade leaving it domed to a continual industrial and global decline.
Turning misfortune into a blessing is the gift of great leaders and visionaries. Japan could achieve such massive transition and end up coming out of all this a winner.
One only needs to look at the geopolitical turmoil we are faced with as well as our environmental debacle and the ongoing global climate changes that all still need to be solved to see that there is a great opportunity here amidst all the devastation that surrounds us.
Mathematically and physically we can change the country with in two year from fossil fuels to renewable energies, giving the expertise, know how and skilled labour force that Japan has, makes this very feasible. There are only few nations that could pull this off nowadays and Japan is certainly the best suited to achieve this, giving its past history and achievements, I cannot think of a better candidate.
The possibilities are endless and the options as well, energy could become the focus for this nation, rather then cars or gadgets. This energy could also be exported in form of Hydrogen gained through electrolysis or the development of new batteries to store energy more efficiently and more effectively.
Furthermore, renewable energies would be far more compatible with Japans culture, main religion and history then fossil fuels could ever be; Fossil fuels danger, pollution and impact are overall negative, especially when we look at the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.
The long term success of a society, its industry and energy uses depend on its ability to balance the social sector with its environment and its economy, all the wile insuring that the three remain viable, bearable and equitable to one another or they wont be sustainable and if they are not sustainable then the system will inevitably collapse. This collapse is already well underway in most industrial nations today.
The future is now, tomorrow will be to late.
