JAPAN ATOMIC INDUSTRIAL FORUM, INC.

Nippon Foundation Surveys Young People on Decarbonization Awareness

The Nippon Foundation of Japan has released the results of a survey conducted in January 2021 of 1,000 men and women around the country aged 17 and 18. Since 2018, after the voting age was lowered from 20 to 18, the foundation has surveyed young people several times a year on various societal issues.

Registration Opens for the 54th JAIF Annual Conference

JAIF is pleased to announce that the registration for the 54th Annual Conference has officially opened. This year’s conference, titled “Japan and the World under the COVID-19 Pandemic - Environmental and Energy Issues & Nuclear Power”, will be held on April 13-14 via live streaming (Webex Events).

FEPC Chairman Explains Response to Earthquake off Fukushima

At a press conference on February 19, Chairman Kazuhiro Ikebe of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC) talked about how FEPC responded to the major earthquake (magnitude 7.3) with its epicenter off Fukushima that occurred just after 11 p.m. on February 13. A maximum of about 860,000 households in the service area of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), and about 90,000 households in the service area of the Tohoku Electric Power Co., experienced power failures, all of which were restored before 9:00 a.m. on February 14.

Site for Spent Fuel Intermediate Storage Facility Outside Fukui Prefecture to Be Determined by End of 2023

On February 12, President Takashi Morimoto of the Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kansai EP) met Governor Tatsuji Sugimoto of Fukui Prefecture at the prefectural office in Fukui City, telling him that Kansai EP would determine a candidate site outside the prefecture for a spent fuel intermediate storage facility by the end of 2023.

16 April, 2021 Kaoru Ohno

Nuclear Energy Subcommittee Hears Opinions on Technological Infrastructure from Representatives of Industry

On April 14, the Nuclear Energy Subcommittee under the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy met and organized the results of its recent deliberations. In February, the subcommittee had resumed its activities after about two years, having revised the Strategic Energy Plan under consideration since the previous fall (2020). It is headed by Itaru Yasui, executive fellow of Backcasting Technology.

Toward the establishment of a system for sustainable use of nuclear energy, related in part to the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, the subcommittee divided its activities roughly into six areas: Sustained efforts to improve safety Co-prosperity with siting areas Establishment of sustainable backend systems The maximum manifestation of nuclear energy’s potential and pursuit of safety Maintaining and strengthening infrastructure for industry, human resources and technology Active promotion of international cooperation Regarding the maximum manifestation of nuclear energy’s potential, representatives of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) noted the need to carry out activities for improving capacity factors and increasing long-term operation beyo...more

16 April, 2021 Kaoru Ohno

Decision on Disposal of ALPS Treated Water Stored at the Fukushima Daiichi NPS

On April 13, the Japanese government’s Inter-Ministerial Council for Contaminated Water and Decommissioning Issues decided, as a basic policy, that contaminated water accumulated at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) would be released into the sea, having been treated by the multi-nuclide removal equipment known as the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). The water—hereafter referred to as “ALPS treated water”—had all its radioactive materials removed except tritium. The decision was based on technological evaluations by an expert task force on the handling of tritium water under the governmental Contaminated Water Treatment Committee, as well as by the Subcommittee on Handling of the ALPS Treated Water (“ALPS subcommittee”)...more

13 April, 2021 Kaoru Ohno

Remarks by JAIF Chairman Imai Takashi at the 54th JAIF Annual Conference

Ladies and gentlemen, I am Chairman Imai Takashi of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum. I would like to say a few words at the opening of this 54th JAIF Annual Conference. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the conference is taking place online this year, with about 830 people participating. I thank you all. It has been ten years since the giant earthquake that struck eastern Japan in 2011, along with the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. I extend anew my sincere sympathy to the people affected by the disaster, including those who are still living as evacuees. I express my respect and gratitude to the many people who are striving for the restoration of Fukushima, and to our members who have provided support. Last year, Prime Minister Suga Yo...more

8 April, 2021 Kaoru Ohno

JGC Holdings Announces Participation in SMR Development by NuScale Power in the U.S.

On April 6, JGC Holdings Corporation (JGC) announced that it would expand its business overseas—engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for small modular reactors (SMRs)—and invest USD40 million in NuScale Power, LLC, a developer of SMRs in the United States.

NuScale, working at the Idaho National Laboratory, is developing a light-water small modular reactor (SMR) with a service target of 2029. The reactor will have an integrated containment diameter of 4.5m, a height of 23m and output of 77MW. SMRs feature improved reliability through simplified systems with smaller cores, and can be manufactured in factories as modules for delivery. Given the substantially reduced construction times and costs in comparison with 1000-MW-class reactors, competition for their development is seen in multiple projects overseas, not only in the United States, but in other advanced nuclear technology countries, including Canada and England. In addition to the expected potential of an expanding SMR market in the future, JGC hopes that SMRs will contribute—on a ...more