Japan's new basic energy plan should clearly state a nuclear power policy that backs building new reactors and replacing existing ones to help the country meet its 2050 goal of carbon neutrality, the head of Japan's utilities group said on Friday.

Japan is set to start discussions later this year to revise the plan, which sets the framework for energy policy.

The current plan, which was approved by the cabinet in October 2021, did not mention building new nuclear plants or replacing existing ones, but stated that Japan aimed to reduce its reliance on nuclear power as much as possible.

"The need to replace and build new nuclear power plants must be clearly stated in the new energy plan in order to help Japan achieve carbon neutrality by 2050," Kazuhiro Ikebe, the chairman of Japan's federation of electric utilities, told a press conference.

This will be the first revision of the energy plan since Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a major nuclear power policy shift in 2022, signalling the country would restart idled nuclear plants and look to extend the lifespan of existing ones to tackle an energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine war.

Japan had kept most of its nuclear plants idled in the decade following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

"The basic energy plan is a compass for considering and implementing the future energy policy," Ikebe, who is also the president of Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc, said.

"It's important to consider how to ensure a sustainable electric power business to secure a stable supply while taking into account future uncertainties ...we will cooperate with the review of the plan," he said. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Alex Richardson)