Japan on ‘high-alert’ for summer power shortages, says minister

Japan's economic minister said there was no need to request for companies and households to conserve energy, but asked that people not waste electricity. - PHOTO: AFP

TOKYO (Bloomberg): Japan’s economy minister warned that the country needs to remain vigilant to prevent electricity shortages this summer, due to its reliance on older power plants that have a higher risk of sudden outages.

"We can’t rule out temporary squeezes on power ahead,” Ken Saito said during a regular news conference Friday. "The situation is such that we need to remain on high-alert.”