Japan is working hard to beat out China and Korea in bids to build civilian nuclear power plants in the Middle East.
Tokyo is supporting Japanese firms to get contracts in the Middle East. The Japanese expect many nuclear power plants to be built due to increased electric demand because of population growth. The first countries that are expected to want nuclear facilities are Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey.
A senior consultant at Nomura Research Institute Ltd, Shigeharu Satake, said that “Power demand will likely double from the current level in 2019 in Saudi Arabia and five other Persian Gulf states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council.” Middle Eastern, oil rich nations want nuclear power because it is now more profitable to export high priced crude oil than to use it for domestic fuel.