30 January, 2019
JAIF President Takahashi Regrets Freezing of Japanese Nuclear Power Project in the UK
At his monthly press briefing on January 24, President Akio Takahashi of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) distributed and explained his message, released the same day, about Japan’s contributions to international organizations.
Given the current situation at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other UN-related organizations, to which Japan contributes more money than it does human resources, Takahashi said that expanding the activities of the Japan Nuclear Human Resource Development Network (JN-HRD Net) and other similar bodies would increase Japan’s presence in terms of the number of both general staff and those holding important posts.
At the IAEA, for example, whereas Japan accounted for nine percent of the total budget in 2017—the second highest—the number of Japanese staff members (specialized professionals and higher) accounted for a mere three percent, ranking 14th.
In his message, President Takahashi referred to the dispatch of staff members to nuclear-related international organizatio...more
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24 January, 2019
Hitachi President Alarmed about Future Human Resources as Company Freezes Project in Britain
On January 17, Japan’s Hitachi Ltd. decided to freeze the project being carried out by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Horizon Nuclear Power, to build two nuclear reactors—both advanced boiling water reactors (ABWRs)—at the Wylfa Newydd Nuclear Power Station in the UK.
In 2017, the British Nuclear Authority issued approval for the project after completing its generic design assessment (GDA). One year later, Hitachi began serious negotiations on a financing model with the British government. Ultimately, however, the company determined that the parties were unlikely to come to an agreement on various conditions, so decided to freeze the project.
At a press conference held at Hitachi’s headquarters on January 17, the company’s president, Toshiaki Higashihara (photo), said that his firm had “made the utmost effort to provide clean energy without CO2 emissions.” He added that the GDA approval meant that Hitachi’s had been given high marks, so that the decision to freeze the project was solely based on economic logic.
Asked whether the project might be r...more
