During the Jinmu boom from 1955 to 1957 and the Iwato boom from 1958 to 1961, energy demand from companies grew dramatically as large corporations undertook aggressive capital investments.

Major corporations made private-sector capital investments, and the demand for energy expanded significantly. At the same time, people's lives became more comfortable, indicated by increased demand for the "three treasures," the three must-have electrical appliances listed above.

With the reorganization of the electric power industry on May 1, 1951, nine electric power companies were inaugurated, including Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO), and on November 7 of the same year, the Research Institute of Electric Technology was established (now the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry [CRIEPI]).

Japan's international competitiveness increased along with its high economic growth, leading to a dramatic expansion of the country's economy. This helped Japan join the ranks of the developed countries.

Japan's industrial structure began to require high-volume energy consumption due to the success of the income-doubling plan. Consumer energy demand also expanded substantially with the concentration of population in cities and an increase in the number of commercial facilities such as office buildings.

With respect to energy, cheap crude oil replaced coal as the standard fuel, while nuclear power and LNG began to be added as new energy sources.

At the same time, increased energy consumption caused serious pollution issues.

Around 1970, the rapid growth of the "Izanagi boom" began to taper off. Rising prices due to inflation, issues such as trade friction, and pollution problems, including photochemical smog, became more serious.

The first oil crisis, triggered by the Yom Kippur War, broke out in 1973, and the second oil crisis, prompted by the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, began in 1978. Both crises severely impacted the Japanese economy.

Responding to the oil crises was the main policy issue of this period, and the country looked toward the establishment of an oil reserve, development of energy alternatives to oil, the promotion of electric power resources with a central focus on nuclear power, and energy conservation.

In this decade, an energy-saving industrial structure was established.

With a cheap and stable supply of energy following the collapse of oil prices, the country created an economic bubble. Economically, Japan's trade surplus was conspicuous, and in 1985, the yen broke through the barrier of 200 to the dollar.

In 1988, unusual weather phenomena occurred worldwide and interest in global warming gained ground.

Electric power generation in Japan shifted towards relying mostly on nuclear power, supplemented by thermal generation. However, as nuclear power stations were being built, accidents occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the United States in 1979 and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, leading many people to question nuclear power in Japan.

During the period of economic slowdown following the burst of the bubble economy, personal computers, mobile phones, the Internet and other information-related sectors began to develop rapidly.

In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was proposed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, and attention was focused on global environmental problems such as global warming. Controlling CO₂ emissions emerged as a major issue for energy policy.

In 1995, Japan's Electricity Enterprises Law was revised, and following the transition to a new electricity rate system, further management streamlining was called for. Furthermore, although utilities had operated on a regional monopoly basis with integrated generation and distribution, deregulation (liberalization) was implemented with a view to encourage the introduction of distributed generation and new energy, reduce costs and increase competitiveness.

As part of a worldwide trend, markets are liberalizing and become borderless, and Japan's economic growth is forecast to increase slightly as a result.

We are entering a period when electric power companies are expected to meet the public demand for energy security and respond to global warming, and at the same time, to fulfill the requirements of private enterprises.

Therefore, the electric power industry will go beyond its current role of production, transmission and use of electricity, and as a general energy industry, it will enter an age of proactive engagement in new businesses and overseas projects.