30 September, 2021
JAEC Releases 2020 White Paper on Nuclear Energy
On September 14, the Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) published an English version of the latest White Paper on Nuclear Energy. Given that last March marked a full ten years since the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants, the document features the past decade in a section entitled “Fukushima Today,” including verification of the accident, lessons learned, and the recovery and reconstruction of Fukushima
“Who could have imagined,” the White Paper asks introspectively, “the scope of an accident causing such serious damage to people and regional communities for more than ten years?” It cites the problem of “ungrounded rumor and reputation damage,” and urges that those, too, not be forgotten.
It also calls on all people concerned with nuclear energy not only to learn the lessons of the accident, so that no such accident can occur again, but also to “remember the memories” as well as the fact that the negative reputation resulting from the accident remains, inflicting suffering on the people of Fukushima.
The White Paper goes on to say that the issue of ungrounded rumors obstructs recovery and reconstruction. It says that steady efforts are needed by individuals, including “not only prof...more
- 14 September, 2021 IAEA Deputy Director General Evrard Visits Japan in Advance of Safety Review of ALPS-treated Water
- 1 September, 2021 Evaluation Report Issued by IAEA’s Review Mission to Fukushima Daiichi: First Visit since 2018
- 28 July, 2021 METI’s Committee Shows Rough Draft of Next Strategic Energy Plan
- 28 June, 2021 Mihama-3 Restarts after Decade-long Hiatus
- 1 June, 2021 Preparations Continue Toward Restarting Tokai-2 NPP
- 28 May, 2021 Fuel Loading Completed at Mihama-3
- 28 May, 2021 Fukui Governor Calls for Clarification of Nuclear’s Position
- 18 May, 2021 Kansai EP Reveals Policy on NPPs Set to Operate Beyond 40 Years, with Mihama-3 to Restart in Late June
- 19 March, 2021 NRA Approves Draft Review Report on Dry Spent Fuel Storage Facility at Genkai NPPs
- 3 March, 2021 Challenged by Rubble, TEPCO Completes Removal of Spent Fuel Assemblies from Pool at Fukushima Daiichi-3 NPP
- 24 February, 2021 FEPC Chairman Explains Response to Earthquake off Fukushima
- 17 February, 2021 Site for Spent Fuel Intermediate Storage Facility Outside Fukui Prefecture to Be Determined by End of 2023
- 10 December, 2020 Japan’s NRA Recognizes Compatibility of JNFL’s MOX Fuel Fabrication Plant with New Regulatory Standards, Approving Changes
17 September, 2021
NRA Permits Shimane-2 under New Regulatory Standards
At its regular meeting on September 15, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) officially finalized the review report on its compatibility examination of the Shimane-2 (BWR, 820MW), owned and operated by the Chugoku Electric Power Co.
The NRA then granted permission to the power company to make changes to the reactor installation (i.e., basic design approval), the 17th such permission granted under the new regulatory standards, and the fifth for a boiling water reactor (BWR).
The application for an examination of Shimane-2 was submitted to the NRA in December 2013, almost at the same time that the Tohoku Electric Power Co. filed its application for the Onagawa-2, for which permission to make changes was given in February 2020. For Shimane-2, the final stage of the examination focused primarily on tsunami countermeasures.
On June 23, the NRA approved a draft review report, saying the unit was compatible with the new regulatory standards. The draft report was then referred to the Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC...more
