JAPAN'S flagging anti-nuclear movement has been given a boost from two former prime ministers who are calling for atomic power to be phased out following the Fukushima disaster.

Former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi said the current Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, should take advantage of his high public support and sway in parliament to "do the right thing".

"Prime Minister Abe should use the power given to him to do what the majority of the people want," Mr Koizumi said. "It can be achieved. Why miss this chance?"

Mr Koizumi, who supported nuclear power during his 2001-06 term in office, said with Japan's nuclear plants all offline for safety checks it would be easiest to begin the phase-out soon.

Mr Abe favours restarting the nuclear plants under safety guidelines revised after multiple meltdowns in Fukushima after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

But another former prime minister, Morihiro Hosokawa, said he also favours an end to reliance on nuclear power.

Mr Hosokawa, who served in 1993-94, said: "It would be a crime against future generations for our generation to restart nuclear plants without resolving the issue over waste."