Death toll from Hokkaido quake hits 44; gov't sees no rolling blackouts despite power shortage

How is it that geothermal plants are not common in Japan when Japan is sitting on a bunch of massive boiling kettles? If mother nature is gonna take a couple of punches at you, why not swing back with class instead of cheap sucker-punches like fossil fuels and nuclear reactors?

It's fantastic that Japan has the resourses to send 40,000 troops to do the manual work when they would otherwise be sitting on their bunks or doing some boring training. I do hope they get proper care though. Many will witness scenes that will not easily be forgotten.

KnowBetter; Because geothermal plants don't fill the pockets of .... well you know who, enough.

How is it that geothermal plants are not common in Japan when Japan is sitting on a bunch of massive boiling kettles? If mother nature is gonna take a couple of punches at you, why not swing back with class instead of cheap sucker-punches like fossil fuels and nuclear reactors?

Quick answer, because politicians, fell into the trap of thinking that cheap energy, (nuclear) was the way to go, and literally NO ONE listened nor cared about the potential disasters waiting to happen here.

Geothermal, solar, wave and wind are all free and plentiful

How is it that geothermal plants are not common in Japan when Japan is sitting on a bunch of massive boiling kettles? 

Ithe does have some. However exploiting it to the full as an energy resource means closing the onsen industry and it still wouldn't provide enough.

Solar power seems the obvious resource - it could do the heavy lifting for much of the year, put on mountainsides inland.

More wind too, although this is still an expensive option overall.

Solar power seems the obvious resource

And to build on this point, I would suggest that all new houses have solar panels built into the roof.

Ithe does have some. However exploiting it to the full as an energy resource means closing the onsen industry and it still wouldn't provide enough.

I think the amount of energy required for onsen is negligible compared with the total energy potential.

How is it that geothermal plants are not common in Japan when Japan is sitting on a bunch of massive boiling kettles? If mother nature is gonna take a couple of punches at you, why not swing back with class instead of cheap sucker-punches like fossil fuels and nuclear reactors?

They're not particularly efficient and the most active geothermal spots are in national parks (Lake Shikotsu, Lake Toya, the Shiretoko Peninsula...).

@nessie - Plans for geothermal power plants are usually blocked by the National Parks Authority, who always fear that tourism and the environment will be destroyed. A trip to New Zealand will quickly disprove that, their plants are well integrated into the local environment and hard to see.