With the next long-term basic energy strategy due to be set before the end of the fiscal year, candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s Sept. 27 presidential election face two basic, but politically difficult, choices about the country¡¯s energy future.

The first is to continue with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida¡¯s plan to increase the use of nuclear power alongside that of renewable energy.

The second is to reduce nuclear power¡¯s share while moving more toward renewable and ammonia- and hydrogen-generated electricity.