NUCLEAR ENERGY: The head of the Japanese utility that owns the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant said Thursday that he believes nuclear power should be part of the country’s energy mix, even though the government and the public seem to feel differently.

COST CONCERNS: Naomi Hirose, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co., also said the utility can’t afford to invest in alternative energy since the earthquake-tsunami crisis last year, which wiped out the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and caused extensive radioactive meltdowns.

PREVIOUS EFFORTS: The company had attempted some diversification of its energy mix before the March 11, 2011, earthquake-tsunami. TEPCO built three mega-solar power plants and more than a dozen windmills with an affiliate.