Atoms in Japan

Japan's nuclear news site operated by Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF).

Unlike the general mass media, which focus on the sensational, JAIF provides reliable & unbiased info.

18/01/2024

NRA Withdraws Order Prohibiting Transport of Nuclear Materials at Kashiwazaki Kariwa NPPs
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6863

On December 27, 2023, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan changed the regulatory response classification of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) back to Category 1 from Category 4.

Category 1 means that the operator is expected to make voluntary improvements, while Category 4 means that there is long-term or serious deterioration in the operator’s safety activities. Kashiwazaki Kariwa NPPs used to be classified as Category 4 in the matter of inadequate physical protection of...

17/01/2024

MRI Comments on COP28 Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6859

On December 26, 2023, the Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI) released a comment referring to the joint statement (the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy) issued at COP28 in Dubai, UAE, which pledges to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050 from the 2020 level.

In its comments, MRI states that Japan would have to make proactive contributions to safe and stable global nuclear operations, in addition to current activities toward restarting existing nuclear reactors. A total of 25 countries had endorsed the declaration as of January 17. Japan has done so from...

17/01/2024

Nuclear Operators Revise Action Plans Including Use of Risk Information
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6856

On December 14, 2023, eleven Japanese nuclear operators jointly released revised strategic plans and action plans toward the better use of risk information. The aim is to improve the safety of nuclear power by introducing the risk-informed decision-making (RIDM) process. When measures are undertaken to improve safety at nuclear facilities, RIDM is an approach to making decisions including quantified risk information obtained by probabilistic risk assessment (PRA).

Strategic plans had earlier been issued in February 2018 and revised in June 2020, making this the second revision, about three and a half years since the previous one. To increase the safety of the country’s nuclear power plants (NPPs)―having reflected on the March 2011 accident at Fukushima Da...

17/01/2024

IAEA Report Released on Marine Monitoring in 2022 Near Fukushima Daiichi
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6853

On December 11, 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report on its marine environmental monitoring of seawater, marine sediment, and fish near Fukushima Daiichi in FY22.

At the request of the Japanese government, the IAEA has been carrying out a series of investigations since 2014 comparing analyses by Japanese and international laboratories to ensure the reliability and transparency of Japan’s seawater monitoring. The report is part of a follow-up of another repo...

10/01/2024

The 57th JAIF Annual Conference to be Held in April
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6845

Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) holds the “JAIF Annual Conference” each spring, a flagship event for the nuclear industry that attracts nuclear experts, specialists and other nuclear-related people from Japan and around the world.

As the entire world stands at a critical crossroads in terms of energy security and decarbonization, many countries are reconsidering nuclear power, and with government support, there is a trend toward active use of nuclear power generation. In Japan, significant progress has been made on the policy...

22/12/2023

Contribution of Nuclear Recognized for First Time in COP History
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/presidents-comments/6841

The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from November 30 to December 13.

For the first time, the Global Stocktake (GST)—a comprehensive technical assessment of progress, made every five years, in each of the goals set out in the Paris Agreement—was conducted. In the document issued about the conference’s results, language was included to accelerate zero- and low-em...

15/12/2023

COP28: Sapporo 5 Leaders to Invest $4.2 Billion to Create New Uranium Market
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6835

On December 7, the eighth day of the COP28 meeting in Dubai, the leaders of the so-called Sapporo 5—Japan, the United States, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which adopted a communiqué in Sapporo, Japan, in April 2023—announced USD4.2 billion in investments to create a new fuel supply chain to ensure the security of the nuclear fuel supply.

The announcement was hurriedly made at the first Net Zero Nuclear (NZN) Summit, which was being held on the same day, and is regarded as a concrete move toward realizing the declaration made on December 2 by 22 countries[ref]As of today, Armenia, Croatia, and Jamaica joined the communiqué, bringing...

15/12/2023

COP28: Japan’s Nuclear Hydrogen and Other Issues Introduced at Official Side Event
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6831

On December 6, the seventh day of the COP28 meeting in Dubai, a talk session was held on the theme of nuclear energy's contribution to deep decarbonization of electricity and harder-to-abate sectors. Among the speakers at the session were Professor ARIMA Jun of the University of Tokyo School of Public Policy and UETAKE Akihito, senior managing director of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF).

Prof. Arima pointed out that the dichotomous “nuclear vs. renewable energy” debate in Japan was a sterile one, adding that a scenario analysis conducted by the University of Tokyo showed that decarbonization in the power sector could be achieved at minimal system cost by maximizing the use of bo...

08/12/2023

COP28: Industry Pledges to Triple Nuclear Capacity
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6825

On December 5, the sixth day of the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference—currently being held in Dubai—the Net Zero Nuclear Industry Pledge (referred to as “the pledge” below), initiated by the Net Zero Nuclear (NZN) Initiative, was signed and announced with the support of 120 companies and organizations around the world, pledging their best efforts to achieve the goal of tripling nuclear power capacity by 2050. It can be seen as a statement of the industry’s determination.

The pledge follows the signing on December 2 of a declaration by 22 countries—including Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada—to triple the world’s nuclear power capacity. It was endorsed by 120 companies and organizations from 140 countries around the world involved...

05/12/2023

22 Countries Sign Declaration to Triple Global Nuclear Energy Capacity
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6814

On December 2, the third day of COP28, now being held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a total of 22 countries, including Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada, signed an ambitious declaration the world’s nuclear energy capacity in order to achieve the 1.5℃ target, which is to limit the increase in global average temperatures to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels, set forth in the Paris Agreement.

＃COP28

Besides the five countries mentioned above, the 22 signatories include, in alphabetical order, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, and the UAE. In addition to setting a....

04/12/2023

JAIF Makes Appeal for Nuclear Energy at COP28
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6810

President ARAI Shiro of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) held a press conference on November 24 to introduce JAIF’s initiatives at COP28 (Dubai, UAE), which started on November 30. The “Net Zero Nuclear” initiative was launched in September by the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), with JAIF participating as a founding member.

During the conference, JAIF, together with overseas nuclear industry organizations, is working with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to run a pavilion and conduct other activities under the initiative, and will issue a joint statement. It is the third time that a pavilion dedicated to n...

28/11/2023

Japanese WNU-SI Students Report on It
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6803

The Summer Institute of the World Nuclear University (WNU-SI), whose purpose is to foster active global leaders in the field of nuclear energy, was staged in Japan for the first time this past summer, as AIJ reported on August 14.

The WNU is an international education and training partnership created in 2003 primarily by the World Nuclear Association (WNA), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA), and the World Association o...

22/11/2023

UK-Japan Nuclear Industry Forum Adds Advanced Technology to Its Agenda
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6797

On October 25, the UK-Japan Nuclear Industry Forum, sponsored by the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the British Embassy in Japan, was held at the embassy in Tokyo, with additional support from the British Market Council, the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), and the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF).

Approximately a hundred people attended, representing 15 British companies and 31 Japanese companies (power companies, vendors, general contractors, trading companies, and others) to exchange information, opinions, and views. At this—the seventh—forum, advanced nuclear technology, including smal...

21/11/2023

TEPCO Files Application with NRA for Permission to Revise Its Operational Safety Program for the Kashiwazaki Kariwa
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6792

On November 1, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan for permission to revise the operational safety program for its Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs).

Having reflected on earlier cases of inadequate physical protection of nuclear materials at the site, TEPCO has incorporated the lessons it learned into the seven-item basic position―its position as a nuclear operator―in its operational safety activities. In December 2017, the NRA granted TEPCO ...

16/11/2023

NRA Approves Extending Operating Lifetimes of Sendai-1 and -2
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6788

On November 1, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan gave its approval to the Kyushu Electric Power Co. to operate its Sendai-1 and Sendai-2 Nuclear Power Plants (PWRs, 890MWe each), located in Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, for 60 years from the respective starts of the two NPPs’ commercial operation. Sendai-1 and -2 will mark 40 years of operation in July 2024 and November 2025, respectively, the limit (without an approved extension) under the Act on the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and Reactors (the Reactor Regulation Act).

Accordingly, in October 2021, Kyushu Electric began special inspections to ascertain the soundness of the reactor vessels and other facilities at Sendai-1 and -2, and filed applications with the NRA in October 2022 for permission to extend their operating lifetimes by 20 years. At a regular meeting....

16/11/2023

JAEA and TerraPower of the U.S. Expand MOU on Demonstration Fast Reactors
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6784

On October 31, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Mitsubishi FBR Systems (MFBR) and the U.S. company TerraPower announced the expansion of their memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed in January 2022, on collaboration in the development of sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) technologies, now to include fast breeder demonstration projects.

In Japan’s strategic road map for fast reactor development, which was revised at the end of last year, work on a conceptual design for a demonstration reactor is to begin in 2024. Included in the revised scope of cooperation are consideration of larger fast reactors with greater economic efficienc...

16/11/2023

First IAEA Review Mission Since Offshore Release of ALPS-Treated Water Ends: Report Expected before End of Year
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6780

On October 27, a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) completed the four-day schedule of its review of the discharge into the sea of water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) from the Fukushima Daiichi. The mission was the sixth since February 2022, and the first since release of the water into the sea began on August 24, 2023.

The IAEA task force team was composed of both IAEA staff members and international experts. There were seven IAEA members in total, including Lydie EVRARD, IAEA deputy director general and head of its Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, and Gustavo CARUSO, director of the IAEA’s Department ...

08/11/2023

Retrieval of Fuel Debris at Fukushima Daiichi: Filling and Solidification Now Among Possible Methods
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6775

On October 18, the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (NDF)—which supports the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi in its technical aspects—published its Technical Strategic Plan 2023. In anticipation that the retrieval of nuclear fuel from Unit 3 of Fukushima Daiichi will become increasingly complex, the possibility of filling and solidification has been added to the partial submersion and submersion methods that had previously been considered.

The filling and solidification method would stabilize the fuel debris using filler, and the filler, debris and structures would be recovered together by drilling and other actions. While the method has the advantages that the fuel debris would be stabilized and that the filler would provide a certai...

06/11/2023

JT-60SA Achieves First Plasma: Another Step Toward Realization of Fusion Energy
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6769

Late in the afternoon of October 23 at the Naka Fusion Institute in Naka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, the superconducting-coil tokamak test device JT-60SA of the National Institute for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) achieved its first plasma.

The JT-60SA is part of the “broader approach” (BA) set up by Europe and Japan to complement and support the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Project, and represents the first time that other countries have invested more than JPY20 billion (approximately USD132 million) in ...

20/10/2023

Takahama-2 Fully Back Online: Japan’s Third NPP to Operate Beyond 40 Years
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6764

On October 16, the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan (NRA) completed its final inspection of Takahama-2 (PWR, 826MW), owned and operated by the Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kansai EP). The reactor then returned to commercial operation after a shutdown of about twelve years. It joins Kansai EP’s Mihama-3 and Takahama-1 as the third nuclear power plant (NPP) in Japan to operate more than 40 years.

So that Takahama-2’s operation could resume, Kansai EP filed applications with the NRA, together with those for Takahama-1 and Mihama-3, for safety examinations to confirm its compliance with the country’s new regulatory standards. To extend their operating lifetimes to 60 years, also, the compa...

20/10/2023

IAEA Begins Marine Sampling; China Participates
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6759

On October 16, an expert team from the IAEA’s Marine Environment Laboratory (IAEA-MEL) in Monaco began its sampling of the marine environment near Fukushima Daiichi. The sampling will continue through October 23, to be followed by comparative evaluations and analyses by the IAEA as well as by Japanese and other international laboratories. The purpose is to ensure reliability and transparency in Japan’s seawater monitoring, which has been ongoing since 2014.

This time, experts from Canada, China and South Korea, who were appointed by IAEA, will newly take part in the monitoring in addition to IAEA-MEL staff, specifically from the viewpoint of improving transparency. Regarding China’s participation, Chairman YAMANAKA Shinsuke of Japan’s Nuclear Regul...

13/10/2023

JAIF, Others Issue Joint Call for Action: “Time to Expand Nuclear Energy”
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6755

On September 28, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF), took part in the Roadmaps to New Nuclear conference held in France. Participating nuclear organizations then issued a joint statement calling for the immediate, widespread deployment of nuclear power to alleviate the effects of climate change and to strengthen energy security.

Co-sponsored by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the French Ministry for the Energy Transition, the inaugural conference was a public-private, high-level initiative held at OECD Headquarters in Paris. Governments of OECD member countries and nuclear-related organizations participated. Nine o...

13/10/2023

Takahama-2 Resumes Generation: Japan’s 3rd Unit to Operate Beyond 40 Years
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6752

On September 20, after a shutdown lasting about twelve years, Takahama-2 (PWR, 826MW), owned and operated by Japan’s Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kansai EP), reconnected to the grid. It is the third nuclear power plant in Japan to remain in service beyond 40 years, following the same company’s Mihama-3 and Takahama-1.

Takahama-2 made its debut as Japan’s tenth commercial reactor on November 14, 1975, exactly one year after Takahama-1. It now boasts the second longest operating duration in Japan, from the commencement of commercial service. Compatibility examinations of Takahama-1 and -2 under the new regulatory...

13/10/2023

Chubu Electric Power Invests in U.S. NuScale Power for SMR Development
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6748

The Chubu Electric Power Co., having decided to invest in NuScale Power, LLC, a developer of SMRs in the United States, entered into an agreement on September 7 to acquire some of the issued shares in NuScale held by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Previous investments in NuScale by Japanese business and financial institutions include one in 2021 by IHI Corporation together with JGC Holdings Corporation, and one by JBIC in 2022. NuScale Power, LLC was founded in 2007 as a startup to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) using technology from O...

13/10/2023

JAEA, the UK’s NNL Conclude Memorandum on HTGC Demonstration Reactor
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6743

On September 9, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) signed a collaboration memorandum on the UK HTGR Demonstration Reactor Programme (Phase B). Under the memorandum, the parties will cooperate in R&D, the creation of nuclear supply chains, and the fostering of human resources toward the introduction of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) in both Japan and the UK.

The signing ceremony was attended by NISHIMURA Yasutoshi, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), who was visiting the UK, and Claire COUTINHO, Secretary of State for the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). To achieve carbon neutrality, the UK government has sel...

21/09/2023

Funds to Support Fisheries Industry Now Exceed JPY100 Billion
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6735

With some countries and regions restricting food imports from Japan due to the discharge into the sea of water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) at Fukushima Daiichi, the Japanese government decided on September 5 to appropriate JPY20.7 billion from reserves for FY23 for emergency support of the fisheries industry. Added to the two existing funds totaling JPY80 billion, established in 2021 and 2022, budgetary measures totaling JPY100.7 billion are currently in place.

On August 24, upon the initial release of the ALPS-treated water, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) released its plan for compensating domestic businesses for damages from import embargoes by other countries. As previously mentioned, the Japanese government had already made JPY80 billion availabl...

19/09/2023

Nuclear Energy Management School Held in Japan with 14 Countries Participating
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6730

On August 22, the Japan-IAEA Nuclear Energy Management School (NEMS) 2023 opened at the Hongo Campus of the University of Tokyo, running until September 8, including lectures and technical tours in Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures.

Attendees were young professionals, engineers, and researchers, mostly working for organizations responsible for nuclear policy and nuclear regulation in countries considering introducing nuclear energy, as well as from Japan. NEMS was launched in 2010 in Italy with the objective of developing young...

06/09/2023

ALPS-Treated Water Released into Sea; Cooperation Continues with IAEA
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6721

On August 24, the release began of water from Fukushima Daiichi into the sea―the first release of water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS).

On August 25, NISHIMURA Yasutoshi, head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), held a video conference with Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Saying that the Japanese government would be involved and take responsibility for the r...

01/09/2023

Restarted Takahama-1 Now Operating Beyond 40 Years, the Second Case in Japan
https://www.jaif.or.jp/en/news/6711

On August 28, after a hiatus of twelve and a half years, Takahama-1 (PWR, 826MW), owned and operated by the Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kansai EP), resumed commercial operation after an integrated performance test by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), the final step in a periodic inspection.

It is the second nuclear power plant (NPP) in Japan to remain in service beyond 40 years, following Kansai EP’s Mihama-3, which had been restarted in June 2021 under the new regulatory standards and resumed commercial operation the following month. Takahama-1 is the 11th NPP in Japan to meet the n...