( CNN ) -- Reeling from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster , Tokyo Electric Power Co. ( TEPCO ) has effectively been nationalized after Tokyo approved a request for a 1 trillion yen ( $ 12.5 billion ) injection of capital . TEPCO supplies power to nearly 30 million people in the Tokyo region and was once valued at more than $ 150 billion . But the nuclear disaster that followed Japan 's historic earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 has left it dependent on government support . The plan , approved by Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano Wednesday , would give the government control of more than 50 % of the company , and could increase its hold to two-thirds of the company stock . `` Without the state funds , ( TEPCO ) can not provide a stable supply of electricity , '' Edano told reporters at a news conference . However , Edano hoped the government would relinquish control within two years if the restructuring plan successfully returns the company to profitability . `` It will depend on how well TEPCO carries out restructuring measures , '' Edano told reporters . In the 10-year plan , TEPCO has vowed to cut 3.3 trillion yen in costs and turn a profit by March 2014 . The company has planned a 10 % rate increase for electricity , which the government has yet to approve . The company also hopes to bring back some of its nuclear reactors online . As of last weekend , all of Japan 's nuclear reactors were offline for the first time in four decades as the Tomari Nuclear Power Plant 's reactor 3 in Hokkaido was shut down for maintenance . In the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster , reactors have not been allowed back on , making Japan now the first major economy to see the modern era without nuclear power . The national government 's ruling party , the Democratic Party of Japan , has been urging local communities to allow reactors to return to operation . The party 's deputy policy chief , Yoshito Sengoku , bluntly said without nuclear energy the world 's third-largest economy would suffer . `` We must think ahead to the impact on Japan 's economy and people 's lives , if all nuclear reactors are stopped . Japan could , in some sense , be committing mass suicide , '' said the party 's deputy policy chief , Yoshito Sengoku . Japan 's biggest business lobby , Keidanren , joined the plea in an April press conference . `` We can not possibly agree to do the kind of energy saving yet again this year , or every year from now on , '' said Chairman Hiromasa Yonekura , referring to the country 's efforts to turn off air conditioners and shift operation of production lines to weekends . `` The government must bring the nuclear power stations back into operation . '' The tsunami that followed last year 's magnitude-9 quake swamped the Fukushima Daiichi plant , knocking out power to cooling systems and leading to meltdowns in its three operating reactors . The resulting release of radioactivity forced residents of several towns near the plant to flee their homes , and a 20-kilometer ( 12.5-mile ) zone around the plant remains closed to the public . CNN 's Kyung Lah , Anne Renzenbrink and the CNN Wire staff contributed to this report .
The trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano approved a request for a 1 trillion yen injection . In the 10-year plan , TEPCO has vowed to turn a profit by March 2014 . All of Japan 's nuclear reactors are now offline for the first time in four decades .