Will Japan’s Nuclear Regulator Approve Plans to Restart Reactors Near Super Volcanoes?

Commonly referred to as the pluthermal program, Japan has plans to commercially burn MOX (mixed plutonium uranium oxide) fuel in 16 to 18 nuclear power plants by 2010. The program, however, is way behind schedule and yet to begin. MOX utilization was initially to take place in Fukui, Fukushima, and Niigata Prefectures. However, at this time, all plans to load MOX fuel in these regions have been temporarily suspended, and opposition to implementation of the pluthermal program remains strong. NIIGATA PREFECTURE: Kariwa’s ‘No to MOX’ Referendum Result Remains Unchanged May 27, 2002 marked the first anniversary of a referendum in Kariwa village, Niigata Prefecture, in which a majority of residents…

Interim Report September 2002 I. Background (How the Review came about.) II. Concerning the Problem of "Falsification of Industry Inspections Records at Nuclear Power Plants" "Of course the responsibility of the utilities [for having caused this situation] must be pursued vigorously, but the Japanese government’s responsibility for this situation is also extremely grave as well." "This current problem is a problem of the national government’s constitution and disposition, conducting nuclear policy "like a bulldozer", and ‘belittling [holding in contempt] the residents where nuclear power plants are located". "The Japanese government states, "Even though there may be slight delays as a result of the current problems, the basic plan of aiming…

Is Japan headed for another Fukushima? Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority Capitulates to Electric Utility on Earthquake Assessment For immediate release Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith +81-90-3620-9251 10 June 2013, Kyoto, Japan—-Today, Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), in a complete about-face, yielded to Kansai Electric, the second largest utility in Japan at an NRA hearing assessing whether or not the only two nuclear power plants operating in Japan today, Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 would be allowed to operate after new regulatory standards come into force 17 July. NRA’s “Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Status Assessment Hearing” (Ohi Genpatsu no Genjo ni Kansuru Hyohka Kaigo) began on 19 April with…

We are organizations in Japan concerned with the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The Japanese people have in our collective memory the devastating effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We are therefore seriously concerned with the current build-up in nuclear tensions in the Far East — the Korean Peninsula and Japan. This, more than anything, urges us to write to you today. Japan has a program to use massive quantities of plutonium for civil use. In spite of there being no demand for plutonium in Japan due to a standstill in the implementation of this program, Japan is going forward with preparations to operate a huge reprocessing plant capable of separating out…

H.M.. Ambassador Stephen GomersallBritish Embassy in Japan1 Ichiban-cho,Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 〒102-8381 Japan 1 July 2002 Dear Ambassador Stephen Gomersall: On 14 June, a BNFL vessel from the United Kingdom arrived in Takahama to take back the “falsified data MOX fuel”. To us in Takahama, we feel as though this will break our hearts. The reason is, if the falsified MOX fuel is returned to the United Kingdom, it could result in further MOX fuel fabrication which could then lead to forced implementation of the pluthermal programme at the Takahama nuclear power plant, and as a result of BNFL fabricating new fuel, the Sellafield region will be, as in the past, forced…