TOKYO — Japan will not stop work on several planned reactors, the trade minister was quoted as saying on Saturday, casting further doubt on whether this resource-poor nation will follow through on a contentious plan to phase out nuclear power.

In its announcement of the plan on Friday, the government said that it would ban the construction of new reactors, although it added that it was possible an exception would be granted for reactors already in various stages of construction; that caveat could allow some reactors to operate decades past the 2040 deadline the government has set for a shutdown. A spokesman said the government did not consider the ban to apply to those reactors, although a final decision would be made by an independent committee.

Yukio Edano, the minister for economy, trade and industry, on Saturday seemed to strengthen the government’s support for allowing plants under construction to come online.

The government “is not considering changing plans regarding the construction of reactors that have already been approved,” Mr. Edano said, according to the Asahi Shimbun. It was unclear how many reactors he was referring to and whether he was including those in preliminary plans.