There’s a gas field in disputed area in East China Sea, which some says could produce hydrogen at scale, and energy self sufficiency had been an ambition of the country for … some time. There’s no equivalent oil field or Uranium deposit.
As a point of ref we have relatively clean electricity generation already (hydro, solar, wind, nuclear) depending on what you count.
Any indication how close to production this east china sea resource is? How willing China is to let Japan develop it or is it already well developed? Again - these are often pipe dream type ideas.
I think it has more to do with external independence/isolationism, than about environments theme, carrying over from the century before. I don’t understand why the government just go double down on nuclear fuel cycle concept but maybe there are too much political complications in it.