Japan faces a long, hot summer without nuclear energy as power companies warn they will effectively have nothing in reserve when seasonal demand peaks. “We have managed to secure the minimum necessary power surplus thanks to the support of other utilities companies,” said Jiro Kagawa, the vice-president of Kansai Electric Power. “But we have virtually no extra power supply.” Kagawa’s comments are seen as a thinly veiled plea to the government and nuclear-industry regulators to hasten the approval of…