Specifically, setsuden was largely in reaction to the aftermath of March 2011 when the Fukushima nuclear plant faced a meltdown after it was damaged by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
[1] In response to this energy shortage, media campaigns promoted Japanese households and businesses to cut back on electrical usage.
While the movement started as an unofficial one, on July 1, 2011, the government passed energy-restriction policies for large companies and target reductions for households and smaller businesses.
Including the Fukushima plant, most of the nuclear reactors shut down were owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company(TEPCO), one of Japan's major energy suppliers and leading sources of nuclear power[3][4] The March earthquake, combined with a meltdown of the Fukushima plant caused the initial widespread blackouts in affected parts of Japan;[5] since then, TEPCO has not recovered and estimated it would be unable to provide enough electricity to meet the peak demand of the 2011 summer.
[7] The movement has been supported by Japan's prime minister Naoto Kan, made public statements about developing alternative energy sources in solar and wind power.
[9] For the summer of 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company posted a page with energy suggestions mainly stating that air conditioner use should be decreased as much as possible, and that appliances should be cleaned to operate optimally.