Nuclear power in Japan

The Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant, a 3-unit BWR site typical of Japan's nuclear plants.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, a nuclear plant with seven units, the largest single nuclear power station in the world, was completely shut down for 21 months following an earthquake in 2007.[1]
The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the world's worst nuclear accident since 1986, displaced 50,000 households after radioactivity leaked into the air, soil and sea.[2] Radiation checks led to bans of some shipments of vegetables and fish.[3]

Prior to the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, and the nuclear disasters that resulted from it, Japan had generated 30% of its electrical power from nuclear reactors and planned to increase that share to 40%.[4] Nuclear energy was a national strategic priority in Japan, but there had been concern about the ability of Japan's nuclear plants to withstand seismic activity. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant was completely shut down for 21 months following an earthquake in 2007.[1]

Starting in the mid-1990s there were several nuclear related accidents and cover-ups in Japan that eroded public perception of the industry, resulting in anti-nuclear protests and resistance to new plants. While exact details may be in dispute, it is clear that the safety culture in Japan's nuclear industry has come under greater scrutiny.[5]

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused the failure of cooling systems at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on March 11 and Japan's first-ever nuclear emergency was declared, which caused 140,000 residents within 20 km (12 mi) of the plant to be evacuated. A comprehensive assessment by international experts on the health risks associated with the Fukushima I nuclear power plant disaster concluded in 2013 that, for the general population inside and outside Japan, the predicted risks were low and no observable increases in cancer rates above baseline rates were anticipated.[6] On 6 May 2011, Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant be shut down as an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher is likely to hit the area within the next thirty years.[7][8][9][10][11]

Problems in stabilizing the triple reactor meltdowns at Fukushima I nuclear plant hardened attitudes to nuclear power. As of June 2011, more than 80 percent of Japanese now said they were anti-nuclear and distrusted government information on radiation.[12][13][14] As of October 2011, there have been electricity shortages, but Japan survived the summer without the extensive blackouts that had been predicted.[15][16][17] An energy white paper, approved by the Japanese Cabinet in October 2011, stated that "public confidence in safety of nuclear power was greatly damaged" by the Fukushima disaster, and called for a reduction in the nation’s reliance on nuclear power.[18]

All Japan's nuclear plants were closed, or their operations suspended for safety inspections. The last of Japan's fifty reactors (Tomari-3) went offline for maintenance on May 5, 2012,[19] leaving Japan completely without nuclear-produced electrical power for the first time since 1970.

Despite protests, on 1 July 2012 unit 3 of the Ōi Nuclear Power Plant was restarted.[20] In September 2013 Ōi units 3 and 4 went offline, making Japan again completely without nuclear-produced electrical power.[21] On August 11, 2015, the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant was brought back online, followed by two units (3 and 4) of the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant on January 29, 2016.[22][23] However Unit 4 was shut down three days after restart due to an internal failure and Unit 3 in March 2016 after district court in Shiga prefecture issued an injunction to halt operation of Takahama Nuclear Power Plant.[24][25]

History

The Ikata Nuclear Power Plant.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant as seen from space.
The Tomari Nuclear Power Plant.

In 1954, Japan budgeted 230 million yen for nuclear energy, marking the beginning of the program. The Atomic Energy Basic Law limited activities to only peaceful purposes.[26] The first nuclear reactor in Japan was built by the UK's GEC and was commissioned in 1966. In the 1970s, the first light water reactors were built in cooperation with American companies. These plants were bought from U.S. vendors such as General Electric and Westinghouse with contractual work done by Japanese companies, who would later get a license themselves to build similar plant designs. Developments in nuclear power since that time have seen contributions from Japanese companies and research institutes on the same level as the other big users of nuclear power. Between the early 1970s and today, the Japanese government promoted the siting of nuclear power plants through a variety of policy instruments involving soft social control and financial incentives.[27] By offering large subsidies and public works projects to rural communities and by using educational trips, junkets for local government officials, and OpEds written as news by pro-nuclear supporters, the central government won over the support of depopulating, hard-on-their-luck coastal towns and villages.

Japan's nuclear industry was not hit as hard by the effects of the Three Mile Island accident (TMI) or the Chernobyl disaster as some other countries. Construction of new plants continued to be strong through the 1980s, 1990s, and up to the present day. While many new plants had been proposed, all were subsequently canceled or never brought past initial planning. Canceled plant orders include:

However, starting in the mid-1990s there were several nuclear related accidents and cover-ups in Japan that eroded public perception of the industry, resulting in protests and resistance to new plants. These accidents included the Tokaimura nuclear accident, the Mihama steam explosion, cover-ups after an accident at the Monju reactor, among others, more recently the Chūetsu offshore earthquake aftermath. While exact details may be in dispute, it is clear that the safety culture in Japan's nuclear industry has come under greater scrutiny.[5]

On April 18, 2007, Japan and the United States signed the United States-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan, aimed at putting in place a framework for the joint research and development of nuclear energy technology.[28] Each country will conduct research into fast reactor technology, fuel cycle technology, advanced computer simulation and modeling, small and medium reactors, safeguards and physical protection; and nuclear waste management.[29] In March 2008, Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that the start of operation of four new nuclear power reactors would be postponed by one year due to the incorporation of new earthquake resistance assessments. Units 7 and 8 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant would now enter commercial operation in October 2014 and October 2015, respectively. Unit 1 of the Higashidori plant is now scheduled to begin operating in December 2015, while unit 2 will start up in 2018 at the earliest.[30] As of September 2008, Japanese ministries and agencies were seeking an increase in the 2009 budget by 6%. The total requested comes to 491.4 billion Japanese yen (4.6 billion USD), and the focuses of research are development of the fast breeder reactor cycle, next-generation light water reactors, the Iter project, and seismic safety.[31]

A 2011 independent investigation in Japan has "revealed a long history of nuclear power companies conspiring with governments to manipulate public opinion in favour of nuclear energy". One nuclear company "even stacked public meetings with its own employees who posed as ordinary citizens to speak in support of nuclear power plants".[32] An energy white paper, approved by the Japanese Cabinet in October 2011, says "public confidence in safety of nuclear power was greatly damaged" by the Fukushima disaster, and calls for a reduction in the nation’s reliance on nuclear power. It also omits a section on nuclear power expansion that was in last year’s policy review.[18] Nuclear Safety Commission Chairman Haruki Madarame told a parliamentary inquiry in February 2012 that "Japan's atomic safety rules are inferior to global standards and left the country unprepared for the Fukushima nuclear disaster last March". There were flaws in, and lax enforcement of, the safety rules governing Japanese nuclear power companies, and this included insufficient protection against tsunamis.[33]

As of 27 March 2012, Japan had only one out of 54 nuclear reactors operating; the Tomari-3, after the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6 was shut down.[34] The Tomari-3 was shut down for maintenance on 5 May, leaving Japan with no nuclear-derived electricity for the first time since 1970, when the country's then only two reactors was taken offline five days for maintenance.[19] On 15 June 2012, approval was given to restart Ōi Units 3 and 4[35] which could take six weeks to bring them to full operation. On 1 July 2012 unit 3 of the Ōi Nuclear Power Plant was restarted. This reactor can provide 1,180 MW of electricity.[36][37] On 21 July 2012 unit 4 was restarted, also 1,180 MW.[38] The reactor was shut down again on 14 September 2013, again leaving Japan with no operating power reactors.[39]

Government figures in the 2014 Annual Report on Energy show that Japan depended on imported fossil fuels for 88% of its electricity in fiscal year 2013, compared with 62% in fiscal 2010. Without significant nuclear power, the country was self-sufficient for just 6% of its energy demand in 2012, compared with 20% in 2010. The additional fuel costs to compensate for its nuclear reactors being idled was ¥3.6 trillion. In parallel, domestic energy users have seen a 19.4% increase in their energy bills between 2010 and 2013, while industrial users have seen their costs rise 28.4% over the same period.[40]

The National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) is the first independent investigation commission by the National Diet in the 66-year history of Japan’s constitutional government. NAICC was established on December 8, 2011 with the mission to investigate the direct and indirect causes of the Fukushima nuclear accident. NAICC submitted its inquiry report to both houses on July 5, 2012.[lower-alpha 1][41] The 10-member commission compiled its report based on more than 1,167 interviews and 900 hours of hearings.[42][43] It was a six-month independent investigation, the first of its kind with wide-ranging subpoena powers in Japan's constitutional history, which held public hearings with former Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Tokyo Electric Power Co's former president Masataka Shimizu, who gave conflicting accounts of the disaster response.[44] The commission chairman, Kiyoshi Kurokawa, declared with respect to the Fukushima nuclear incident: “It was a profoundly man-made disaster — that could and should have been foreseen and prevented.”[45] He added that the "fundamental causes" of the disaster were rooted in "the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture."[46] The report outlines errors and willful negligence at the plant before the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 and a flawed response in the hours, days and weeks that followed. It also offers recommendations and encourages Japan's parliament to "thoroughly debate and deliberate" the suggestions.[47]

Japan's new energy plan, approved by the Liberal Democratic Party cabinet in April 2014, calls nuclear power "the country's most important power source".[48] Reversing a decision by the previous Democratic Party, the government will re-open nuclear plants, aiming for "a realistic and balanced energy structure". In May 2014 the Fukui District Court blocked the restart of the Oi reactors.[49] In April 2015 courts blocked the restarting of two reactors at Takahama Nuclear Power Plant but permitted the restart of two reactors at Sendai Nuclear Power Plant.[50] The government hopes that nuclear power will produce 20% of Japan’s electricity by 2030.[50]

As of June 2015, approval was being sought from the new Nuclear Regulatory Agency for 24 units to restart, of the 54 pre-Fukushima units. The units also have to be approved by the local prefecture authorities before restarting.[51]

In July 2015 fuel loading was completed at the Sendai-1 nuclear plant, with a planned startup in 30 days. Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority approved the restart of Ikata-3, this reactor is the fifth to receive approval to restart.[52]

Seismicity

Japan has had a long history of earthquakes and seismic activity, and destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times a century. Due to this, concern has been expressed about the particular risks of constructing and operating nuclear power plants in Japan. Amory Lovins has said: "An earthquake-and-tsunami zone crowded with 127 million people is an un-wise place for 54 reactors".[53] To date, the most serious seismic-related accident has been the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Professor Katsuhiko Ishibashi, one of the seismologists who have taken an active interest in the topic, coined the term genpatsu-shinsai (原発震災), from the Japanese words for "nuclear power" and "quake disaster" to express the potential worst-case catastrophe that could ensue.[54][55] Dr Kiyoo Mogi, former chair of the Japanese Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction,[56] has expressed similar concerns, stating in 2004 that the issue 'is a critical problem which can bring a catastrophe to Japan through a man-made disaster'.[57][58]

Warnings from Kunihiko Shimazaki, a professor of seismology at the University of Tokyo, were also ignored. In 2004, as a member of an influential cabinet office committee on offshore earthquakes, Mr. Shimazaki "warned that Fukushima's coast was vulnerable to tsunamis more than twice as tall as the forecasts of as much as five meters put forth by regulators and Tokyo Electric".[59] Minutes of the meeting on Feb. 19, 2004, show that the government bureaucrats running the committee moved quickly to exclude his views from the committee's final report. He said the committee did not want to force Tokyo Electric to make expensive upgrades at the plant.[59]

Hidekatsu Yoshii, a member of the House of Representatives for Japanese Communist Party and an anti-nuclear campaigner, warned in March and October 2006 about the possibility of the severe damage that might be caused by a tsunami or earthquake.[60] During a parliamentary committee in May 2010 he made similar claims, warning that the cooling systems of a Japanese nuclear plant could be destroyed by a landslide or earthquake.[60] In response Yoshinobu Terasaka, head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, replied that the plants were so well designed that "such a situation is practically impossible".[60] Following damage at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant due to the 2007 Chūetsu offshore earthquake, Kiyoo Mogi called for the immediate closure of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant,[56][61] which was knowingly built close to the centre of the expected Tōkai earthquake.[57] Katsuhiko Ishibashi previously claimed, in 2004, that Hamaoka was "considered to be the most dangerous nuclear power plant in Japan".[62]

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also expressed concern. At a meeting of the G8's Nuclear Safety and Security Group, held in Tokyo in 2008, an IAEA expert warned that a strong earthquake with a magnitude above 7.0 could pose a 'serious problem' for Japan's nuclear power stations.[63] Before Fukushima, "14 lawsuits charging that risks had been ignored or hidden were filed in Japan, revealing a disturbing pattern in which operators underestimated or hid seismic dangers to avoid costly upgrades and keep operating. But all the lawsuits were unsuccessful".[64] Underscoring the risks facing Japan, a 2012 research institute investigation has "determined there is a 70% chance of a magnitude-7 earthquake striking the Tokyo metropolitan area within the next four years, and 98% over 30 years". The March 2011 earthquake was a magnitude-9.[65]

Design standards

Horizontal acceleration experienced and design values during the 2007 and 2011 major earthquake and earthquake-tsunami events.

Between 2005 and 2007, three Japanese nuclear power plants were shaken by earthquakes that far exceeded the maximum peak ground acceleration used in their design.[66] The tsunami that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, inundating the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, was more than twice the design height,[67] while the ground acceleration also slightly exceeded the design parameters.[68]

In 2006 a Japanese government subcommittee was charged with revising the national guidelines on the earthquake-resistance of nuclear power plants, which had last been partially revised in 2001,[69] resulting in the publication of a new seismic guide — the 2006 Regulatory Guide for Reviewing Seismic Design of Nuclear Power Reactor Facilities.[69] The subcommittee membership included Professor Ishibashi, however his proposal that the standards for surveying active faults should be reviewed was rejected and he resigned at the final meeting, claiming that the review process was 'unscientific'[56][70] and the outcome rigged[70][71] to suit the interests of the Japan Electric Association, which had 11 of its committee members on the 19-member government subcommittee.[71] Ishibashi has subsequently claimed that, although the new guide brought in the most far-reaching changes since 1978, it was 'seriously flawed' because it underestimated the design basis earthquake ground motion.[54] He has also claimed that the enforcement system is 'a shambles'[54][66] and questioned the independence of the Nuclear Safety Commission after a senior Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official appeared to rule out a new review of the NSC's seismic design guide in 2007.[54]

Following publication of the new 2006 Seismic Guide, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, at the request of the Nuclear Safety Commission, required the design of all existing nuclear power plants to be re-evaluated.[72]

Geological surveys

The standard of geological survey work in Japan is another area causing concern. In 2008 Taku Komatsubara, a geologist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology alleged that that the presence of active faults was deliberately ignored when surveys of potential new power plant sites were undertaken, a view supported by a former topographer.[73] Takashi Nakata, a seismologist from the Hiroshima Institute of Technology has made similar allegations, and suggest that conflicts of interest between the Japanese nuclear industry and the regulators contribute to the problem.[71]

A 2011 Natural Resources Defense Council report that evaluated the seismic hazard to reactors worldwide, as determined by the Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program data, placed 35 of Japan's reactors in the group of 48 reactors worldwide in very high and high seismic hazard areas.[74]

Nuclear power plants

Following the Fukushima I nuclear accidents Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced that all 6 of the reactors at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant will be decommissioned.[75] For a list of nuclear reactors in Japan, see List of nuclear reactors.

Station Capacity (MW) Community Coordinates Status
Fugen 557 Tsuruga, Fukui 35°45′16″N 136°00′59″E / 35.75444°N 136.01639°E / 35.75444; 136.01639 (Fugen Nuclear Power Station) Decommissioned
Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant 4,696 Futaba, Fukushima 37°25′17″N 141°01′57″E / 37.42139°N 141.03250°E / 37.42139; 141.03250 (Fukushima I Nuclear Power Station) Cold shutdown, reactors 1-4
damaged, to be decommissioned[75]
Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant 4,400 Futaba, Fukushima 37°19′10″N 141°01′16″E / 37.31944°N 141.02111°E / 37.31944; 141.02111 (Fukushima II Nuclear Power Station) Cold shutdown
Genkai Nuclear Power Plant 3,478   33°30′56″N 129°50′14″E / 33.51556°N 129.83722°E / 33.51556; 129.83722 (Genkai Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant 4,997   34°37′25″N 138°08′33″E / 34.62361°N 138.14250°E / 34.62361; 138.14250 (Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Higashidōri Nuclear Power Plant 1,100   41°11′17″N 141°23′25″E / 41.18806°N 141.39028°E / 41.18806; 141.39028 (Higashidōri Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Ikata Nuclear Power Plant 2,022   33°29′27″N 132°18′41″E / 33.49083°N 132.31139°E / 33.49083; 132.31139 (Ikata Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant 8,212   37°25′42″N 138°36′06″E / 37.42833°N 138.60167°E / 37.42833; 138.60167 (Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station) Suspended[76]
Maki Nuclear Power Plant 825   37°25′17″N 141°01′57″E / 37.42139°N 141.03250°E / 37.42139; 141.03250 (Maki Nuclear Power Station) Withdrawn
Mihama Nuclear Power Plant 1,666   35°42′09″N 135°57′48″E / 35.70250°N 135.96333°E / 35.70250; 135.96333 (Mihama Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Monju Nuclear Power Plant 280   35°44′25″N 135°59′17″E / 35.74028°N 135.98806°E / 35.74028; 135.98806 (Monju Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Namie-Odaka Nuclear Power Plant 825     Withdrawn
Ōi Nuclear Power Plant 4,710   35°32′26″N 135°39′07″E / 35.54056°N 135.65194°E / 35.54056; 135.65194 (Ōi Nuclear Power Station) Shutdown for maintenance
Ōma Nuclear Power Plant 1,383   41°30′35″N 140°54′37″E / 41.50972°N 140.91028°E / 41.50972; 140.91028 (Ōma Nuclear Power Plant) Under construction
Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant 2,174   38°24′04″N 141°29′59″E / 38.40111°N 141.49972°E / 38.40111; 141.49972 (Onagawa Nuclear Power Station) Cold shutdown
Sendai Nuclear Power Plant 1,780   31°50′01″N 130°11′23″E / 31.83361°N 130.18972°E / 31.83361; 130.18972 (Sendai Nuclear Power Station) Operational
Shika Nuclear Power Plant 1,898   37°03′40″N 136°43′35″E / 37.06111°N 136.72639°E / 37.06111; 136.72639 (Shika Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Shimane Nuclear Power Plant 1,280   35°32′18″N 132°59′57″E / 35.53833°N 132.99917°E / 35.53833; 132.99917 (Shimane Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Takahama Nuclear Power Plant 3,304   35°31′20″N 135°30′17″E / 35.52222°N 135.50472°E / 35.52222; 135.50472 (Takahama Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant 1,100   36°27′59″N 140°36′24″E / 36.46639°N 140.60667°E / 36.46639; 140.60667 (Tōkai Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Tomari Nuclear Power Plant 2,070   43°02′10″N 140°30′45″E / 43.03611°N 140.51250°E / 43.03611; 140.51250 (Tomari Nuclear Power Station) Shutdown for maintenance
Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant 1,517   35°40′22″N 136°04′38″E / 35.67278°N 136.07722°E / 35.67278; 136.07722 (Tsuruga Nuclear Power Station) Suspended
Nuclear power plants in Japan (view)
 Active plants
 Suspended operation plants
 Planned plants

On 6 May 2011, then Prime Minister Naoto Kan requested the plant be shut down as an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher is estimated 87% likely to hit the area within the next 30 years.[77][78][79] Kan wanted to avoid a possible repeat of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.[10] On 9 May 2011, Chubu Electric decided to comply with the government request. In July 2011, a mayor in Shizuoka Prefecture and a group of residents filed a lawsuit seeking the decommissioning of the reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant permanently.[80]

In April 2014, Reuters reported that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe favours restarting nuclear plants, but that its analysis suggests that only about one-third to two-thirds of reactors will be in a technical and economic position to restart.[81]

Nuclear accidents

In terms of consequences of radioactivity releases and core damage the Fukushima I nuclear accidents in 2011 were the worst experienced by the industry in addition to ranking among the worst civilian nuclear accidents, though no fatalities were caused and no serious exposure of radiation to workers occurred. The Tokaimura reprocessing plant fire in 1999 had 2 worker deaths, one more exposed to radiation levels above legal limits and over 660 others received detectable radiation doses but within permissible levels, well below the threshold to affect human health. The Mihama Nuclear Power Plant experienced a steam explosion in one of the turbine buildings in 2004 where five workers were killed and six injured.[82]

2011 accidents

A map showing epicenter of earthquake and position of nuclear power plants

There have been many nuclear shutdowns, failures, and partial meltdowns which were triggered by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Plant description Accident descriptions
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant Fukushima II nuclear accidents
Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant incidents
Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant incidents
Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant incidents

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

According to the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, "by April 27 approximately 55 percent of the fuel in reactor unit 1 had melted, along with 35 percent of the fuel in unit 2, and 30 percent of the fuel in unit 3; and overheated spent fuels in the storage pools of units 3 and 4 probably were also damaged".[83] The accident exceeds the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in seriousness, and is comparable to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.[83] The Economist reports that the Fukushima disaster is "a bit like three Three Mile Islands in a row, with added damage in the spent-fuel stores",[84] and that there will be ongoing impacts:

Years of clean-up will drag into decades. A permanent exclusion zone could end up stretching beyond the plant’s perimeter. Seriously exposed workers may be at increased risk of cancers for the rest of their lives...[84]

On March 24, 2011, Japanese officials announced that "radioactive iodine-131 exceeding safety limits for infants had been detected at 18 water-purification plants in Tokyo and five other prefectures". Officials said also that the fallout from the Dai-ichi plant is "hindering search efforts for victims from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami".[85]

Problems in stabilizing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have hardened attitudes to nuclear power. As of June 2011, "more than 80 percent of Japanese now say they are anti-nuclear and distrust government information on radiation".[12] The ongoing Fukushima crisis may spell the end of nuclear power in Japan, as "citizen opposition grows and local authorities refuse permission to restart reactors that have undergone safety checks". Local authorities are skeptical that sufficient safety measures have been taken and are reticent to give their permission – now required by law – to bring suspended nuclear reactors back online.[12][86]

Two government advisers have said that "Japan's safety review of nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster is based on faulty criteria and many people involved have conflicts of interest". Hiromitsu Ino, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, says "The whole process being undertaken is exactly the same as that used previous to the Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident, even though the accident showed all these guidelines and categories to be insufficient".[87]

In 2012, former prime minister Naoto Kan was interviewed about the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and has said that at one point Japan faced a situation where there was a chance that people might not be able to live in the capital zone including Tokyo and would have to evacuate. He says he is haunted by the specter of an even bigger nuclear crisis forcing tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo and threatening the nation's existence. "If things had reached that level, not only would the public have had to face hardships but Japan's very existence would have been in peril".[88] That convinced Kan to "declare the need for Japan to end its reliance on atomic power and promote renewable sources of energy such solar that have long taken a back seat in the resource-poor country's energy mix".[88]

Other accidents

Other accidents of note include:[89]

Nuclear waste disposal

Japanese policy is to reprocess its spent nuclear fuel. Originally spent fuel was reprocessed under contract in England and France, but then the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant was built, with operations originally expected to commence in 2007.[91] The policy to use recovered plutonium as mixed oxide (MOX) reactor fuel was questioned on economic grounds, and in 2004 it was revealed the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had covered up a 1994 report indicating reprocessing spent fuel would cost four times as much as burying it.[92]

In 2000, a Specified Radioactive Waste Final Disposal Act called for creation of a new organization to manage high level radioactive waste, and later that year the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO) was established under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. NUMO is responsible for selecting a permanent deep geological repository site, construction, operation and closure of the facility for waste emplacement by 2040.[93][94] Site selection began in 2002 and application information was sent to 3,239 municipalities, but by 2006, no local government had volunteered to host the facility.[95] Kōchi Prefecture showed interest in 2007, but its mayor resigned due to local opposition. In December 2013 the government decided to identify suitable candidate areas before approaching municipalities.[96]

The head of the Science Council of Japan’s expert panel has said Japan's seismic conditions makes it difficult to predict ground conditions over the necessary 100,000 years, so it will be impossible to convince the public of the safety of deep geological disposal.[96]

Nuclear regulatory bodies in Japan

Nuclear power companies

Electric utilities running nuclear plants

Japan is divided into a number of regions that each get electric service from their respective regional provider, all utilities hold a monopoly and are strictly regulated by the Japanese government. For more background information, see Energy in Japan. All regional utilities in Japan currently operate nuclear plants with the exception of the Okinawa Electric Power Company. They are also all members of the Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPCO) industry organization. The companies are listed below.

The headquarters of Electric Power Development, or J-Power, whose activities are specially directed towards R&D on new power sources.
JAPC, jointly owned by several Japan's major electric utilities, was created by special provisions from the Japanese government to be the first company in Japan to run a nuclear plant. Today it still operates two separate sites.
This company was created by a special law after the end of World War II, it operates a number of coal fired, hydroelectric, and wind power plants, the Ohma nuclear plant that is under construction will mark its entrance to the industry upon completion.

Nuclear vendors and fuel cycle companies

Nuclear vendors provide fuel in its fabricated form, ready to be loaded in the reactor, nuclear services, and/or manage construction of new nuclear plants. The following is an incomplete list of companies based in Japan that provide such services. The companies listed here provide fuel or services for commercial light water plants, and in addition to this, JAEA has a small MOX fuel fabrication plant. Japan operates a robust nuclear fuel cycle.[97]

Nuclear Research and professional organizations in Japan

Research organizations

These organizations are government-funded research organizations, though many of them have special status to give them power of administration separate from the Japanese government. Their origins date back to the Atomic Energy Basic Law, but they have been reorganized several times since their inception.

Academic/professional organizations

Other proprietary organizations

Anti-nuclear movement

Anti-Nuclear Power Plant Rally on 19 September 2011 at Meiji Shrine complex in Tokyo. Sixty thousand people marched chanting "Sayonara nuclear power" and waving banners, to call on Japan's government to abandon nuclear power, following the Fukushima disaster.[14][104]
Peaceful anti-nuclear protest in Tokyo, Japan, escorted by policemen, 16 April 2011.

Long one of the world’s most committed promoters of civilian nuclear power, Japan's nuclear industry was not hit as hard by the effects of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident (USA) or the 1986 Chernobyl disaster (USSR) as some other countries. Construction of new plants continued to be strong through the 1980s and into the 1990s. However, starting in the mid-1990s there were several nuclear related accidents and cover-ups in Japan that eroded public perception of the industry, resulting in protests and resistance to new plants. These accidents included the Tokaimura nuclear accident, the Mihama steam explosion, cover-ups after accidents at the Monju reactor, and more recently the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant was completely shut down for 21 months following an earthquake in 2007. While exact details may be in dispute, it is clear that the safety culture in Japan's nuclear industry has come under greater scrutiny.[5]

The negative impact of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has changed attitudes in Japan. Political and energy experts describe "nothing short of a nationwide loss of faith, not only in Japan’s once-vaunted nuclear technology but also in the government, which many blame for allowing the accident to happen".[105] Sixty thousand people marched in central Tokyo on 19 September 2011, chanting "Sayonara nuclear power" and waving banners, to call on Japan's government to abandon nuclear power, following the Fukushima disaster.[14][104] Bishop of Osaka, Michael Goro Matsuura, has called on the solidarity of Christians worldwide to support this anti-nuclear campaign.[106] In July 2012, 75,000 people gathered near in Tokyo for the capital’s largest anti-nuclear event yet. Organizers and participants said such demonstrations signal a fundamental change in attitudes in a nation where relatively few have been willing to engage in political protests since the 1960s.[107]

Anti-nuclear groups include the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Stop Rokkasho, Hidankyo, Sayonara Nuclear Power Plants, Women from Fukushima Against Nukes, and the Article 9 group. People associated with the anti-nuclear movement include: Jinzaburo Takagi, Haruki Murakami, Kenzaburō Ōe, Nobuto Hosaka, Mizuho Fukushima, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tetsunari Iida.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The startpage of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission internetsite stated on July 10, 2012 the following information which was used as the basis for the previous sentences: "NAIIC (The National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission) is the first independent investigation commission by the National Diet in the 66-year history of Japan’s constitutional government. NAICC was established on December 8, 2011 with the mission to investigate the direct and indirect causes of the Fukushima nuclear incident. NAICC submitted its inquiry report to both houses on July 5, 2012."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 The European Parliament's Greens-EFA Group - The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2007 p. 23.
  2. ↑ Tomoko Yamazaki and Shunichi Ozasa (June 27, 2011). "Fukushima Retiree Leads Anti-Nuclear Shareholders at Tepco Annual Meeting". Bloomberg.
  3. ↑ Mari Saito (May 7, 2011). "Japan anti-nuclear protesters rally after PM call to close plant". Reuters.
  4. ↑ "Nuclear Power in Japan". World Nuclear Association. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
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