Japan plans to restart mothballed nuclear facilities and may develop more projects, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said Wednesday, reversing a more than decade-long policy that has increased the country’s reliance on LNG.

During a press conference, Kishida said he had directed energy officials to initiate concrete plans by the end of the year to restore nuclear-powered electricity generation. The move would reverse Japan’s policy of phasing out nuclear power before 2040.

“In order to overcome our imminent crisis of a power supply crunch, we must take our utmost steps to mobilize all possible policies in the coming years and prepare for any emergency,” Kishida said, according to the Associated Press.

Japan had been on track to source almost 50% of its power from nuclear...