The Japanese Government announced it will stop using nuclear power by 2040 and instead aims to increase the use of renewable energy and import more oil, coal and gas for the future.

Last April’s disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant following the devastating earthqauke and tsunami led to to Japan reviewing its energy policy.

Japan now joins Germany as the second major economy to cut nuclear power. Before the accident, the country relied on nuclear power for a third of its energy and had planned to raise it to 50% by 2030.

A strategy document released on Friday said: “Every policy resource will be brought to bear to make it possible to have zero nuclear power plants in operation by the 2030s.”

Under the new proposals, nuclear reactors would be shut down after 40 years and new ones would no longer be built.

Reports claim the plan has faced strong opposition from businesses. Hiromasa Yonekura, Chairman of the Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) said: “There is no way we can accept this – I cannot think this is technologically possible.”

However, it will likely be welcomed by the public as protests calling for an end to nuclear power hit the capital of Tokyo earlier this year.