Energy independence is like baseload power, a legacy concept that should be abandoned.

Japan's entire economy is linked to every one of the countries I just listed. They import and export everything.

They have no energy 'independence' today. They have to import all of their fossil fuels and uranium. Independence is a damaging illusion, not a reality.

The question is how they build an energy economy of the future that is with sufficiently trusted regional partners and sufficiently hedged. Hydrogen doesn't help with that, it hurts that process as it requires massively more cost so less money left for hedging, not to mention no economy due to the resulting cost of energy.