Japan links from IAEA
* Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
* Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
* Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
* Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute
* Japan Atomic Industrial Forum Inc.(JAIF)
* Toshiba Corporation (TOSHIBA)
* Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation
* Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI)
* The Federal of Electric Power Companies
* Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Inc.
* Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc.
* Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc.
* Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.(CHUBU)
* Hokuriku Electric Power Co., Inc.
* Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.(KEPCO)
* Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc.
* Shikoku Electric Power Co., Inc.
* Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc.
* Japan Atomic Power Co., Inc.
* Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI)
* World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO)
* Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute
* Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel, Inc.:
* Nuclear Fuel Industries, Inc.
* Sumitomo Metal Industries, Inc.
* Kobelco, Inc.: letter-spacing
* Musachi Institute of Technology
March 21, 2008
* Japan - Rokkasho reprocessing plant to start full-scale ops this summer
February 15, 2008
This is from the front page of today's The Asahi Shimbun, of Japan.
See full text of this story via the web version of this article.
October 25, 2006
*
Japan official warns against nuke debate
Eric Talmadge, AP/The State (SC)
TOKYO - Japan should not engage in 'careless debate' on whether it should posses nuclear weapons, the country's defense chief said Wednesday, becoming the ...
*
Japan FM renews call for debate on nuclear weapons
Kyoko Hasegawa, Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
*
Candidates debate carpetbagging, war, immigration
North Lake Tahoe Bonanza (NV)
... Ensign said developing a threat of nuclear weapons in Japan is the best way to put pressure on China and therefore on North Korea to halt its pursuit of such ...
*
Tokyo brings forward missile defence
Financial Times (UK)
... bring forward its programme for setting up a missile defence system following heightened tensions in the region caused by North Korea's nuclear test, the ...
July 1, 2006
* Chernobyl - Japan's continuing aid to Ukraine
June 20, 2006
* Japan expected to join Multinational Design Approval Program (MDAP) for Gen III and IV reactors
* [2006-05-30] Japan plans to build new fast breeder reactor by 2025
Mainichi Daily News
* [2006-05-25] Worker at nuclear fuel reprocessing plant has been exposed to radiation in north Japan
PlanetSave
* [2006-05-25] BNG renews Japanese reprocessing technology contract
Nuclear Engineering
* [2006-05-24] Steam leak halts reactor in Fukushima
Japan Times
* [2006-05-23] Japan to swap nuclear waste with Britain
UPI
* [2006-05-22] Small amount of radiation leaks within Japanese nuclear plant
Mainichi Daily News
* [2006-05-20] LANL, Japanese scientists team up for hydrogen project
Andy Lenderman, Santa Fe New Mexican
* [2006-05-19] Japanese officials investigate small radioactive leak at nuclear plant; no injuries
Mainichi Daily News
* [2006-05-17] Radioactive water leaks from Japanese nuclear plant
Mainichi Daily News
* [2006-05-16] Radioactive water leaks at Mihama
Japan Times
* [2006-05-16] Japan Nuke Plant Leaks Radioactive Water
Hiroko Tabuchi, Guardian
* [2006-05-13] Fuel program may violate U.S.-Japan nuclear pact
Japan Times
* [2006-05-09] Japan court backs nuclear plant
Chris Hogg, BBC News
* [2006-05-09] Rokkasho safe to operate: high court
Japan Times
* [2006-05-07] Japan offers to cooperate in U.S. nuke fuel program
Japan Times
* [2006-05-04] Mottaki meets Japanese delegation, stresses peaceful nuclear rights
IRNA
* [2006-05-01] Japan urged to strengthen nuclear reactors
UPI
* [2006-05-01] U.S., Japan call for resuming six-party talks
Xinhua News
April 2, 2006
* Japan - reprocessing plant - 1300 kilometers of piping, 26,000 joints
* Japan - reprocessing plant is part of energy policy, not quest for weapons
March 31, 2006
* [2006-03-31] Nuclear reprocessing plant begins trials
Japan Times
* [2006-03-31] Government drafts plans for reactor to succeed Monju
Japan Times
* [2006-03-31] Japanese nuclear plant starts tests
Yahoo! UK
* [2006-03-31] Japan's nuclear reprocessing plant begins trial run
Xinhua News
* [2006-03-30] Japan's 1st nuclear reprocessing plant to begin trial operation
Xinhua News
* [2006-03-29] Nuclear agency OKs Shikoku Electric MOX plan
Japan Times
* [2006-03-29] Tokai unveils replica of deadly uranium plant
Japan Times
* [2006-03-28] Coal plant plan scrapped over emissions fears
Makoto Mitsui, The Daily Yomiuri (Japan)
A 1,000-megawatt coal plant planned for Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, to go online in 2012, has been scrapped because of concern that it would produce too much carbon dioxide. The project was floated by Sigma Power Yamaguchi Corp., a joint venture company formed by Toshiba Corp. and Orix Corp. The plant's annual emission of CO2 was projected to exceed that of a plant using natural gas by 3 million tons--an amount equal to annual CO2 emissions from 540,000 households. The Environment Ministry, which assessed the potential environmental effect of the plant, in mid-February requested that the enterprise come up with measures to substantially reduce the plant's CO2 emissions. Sigma Power Yamaguchi suspended its environmental effect assessment and gave up the project in late February. "Since the price of coal rose 1.5 times from what was originally projected in the plan, it would become harder to make a profit. We also took into consideration concerns about the plant's high CO2 emissions," a Toshiba spokesman said.
* [2006-03-28] Local gov't okays test run at nuclear reprocessing plant
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* [2006-03-26] Japan's long-stalled nuclear power project gets boost
Yahoo! UK
* [2006-03-26] Genkai, Saga grant request to burn MOX
Japan Times
* [2006-03-25] Court orders new reactor's halt
Japan Times
* [2006-03-24] Japanese nuclear reactor ordered shut
UPI
* [2006-03-24] Japan's shaky nuclear record
Sarah Buckley, BBC News
* [2006-03-24] Hokuriku Electric Will Appeal Reactor Closure Order
Bloomberg
* [2006-03-24] Court order deals setback to Japan nuclear industry
David Pilling, Financial Times
* [2006-03-24] Japanese Court Orders Reactor Closed
Guardian
* [2006-03-24] Japan nuclear plant ordered to shut down
Richard Lloyd Parry, London Times
* [2006-03-24] Japanese court orders nuclear reactor shutdown in ruling on lawsuit
Mainichi Daily News
* [2006-03-23] Japan worried over U.S.-India nuclear deal
UPI
* [2006-03-23] Fishermen fail to halt reactor plan
Japan Times
* [2006-03-22] No Radiation From Japan Nuclear Waste Fire
Kozo Mizoguchi, Las Vegas SUN
* [2006-03-22] Blaze at Japanese nuclear plant
BBC News
* [2006-03-22] Fire Breaks Out at Japanese Nuclear Plant
Guardian
* [2006-03-22] Two hospitalized in fire at Japanese nuclear facility
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* [2006-03-22] Japanese FM voices concern on India-US nuclear deal
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* [2006-03-22] Germany still needs nuclear power: economy minister
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* [2006-03-18] 10 exposed to radiation in Japan
News24
* [2006-03-18] Australia, US, Japan praise China, seek to enhance Asian cooperation
Yahoo! UK
* [2006-03-16] Japan starts operating its 55th commercial nuclear reactor for electricity generation
Mainichi Daily News
* [2006-03-14] 30 A-bomb survivors file for radiation illness recognition
Kyodo News Service/Japan Economic Newswire 10:45 am GMT
Japan recognizes a person as having been exposed to radiation if he or she is confirmed as having been in or in the vicinity of the cities of Hiroshima or Nagasaki at the time of the atomic bombings, or confirmed as having visited areas near the epicenters of the bomb blasts within two weeks of the bombings. As of the end of March 2005, 266,598 people possessed A-bomb survivor booklets -- certificates that formally recognize their exposure to radiation from the bombings. If someone thus exposed is confirmed as needing medical treatment due to radiation-induced illness, he or she is eligible to receive a medical allowance of 140,000 yen per month. About 0.8 percent of Japanese confirmed as having been exposed to radiation are recognized as suffering from radiation illness.
"Cancers are rapidly increasing among atomic bomb victims regardless of how far they were away from the epicenters. The fact that the victims are still under the threat of death 60 years after the atomic bombings shows the inhumanity of nuclear weapons," according to a statement by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization, also known as Hidankyo.
* [2006-03-14] 30 A-bomb survivors apply for radiation illness benefits
Japan Times
* [2006-03-07] Thyroid woes a long-term risk after exposure to radiation--Japanese study may offer clues in Utah fallout legacy
Joe Bauman, Deseret News
* [2006-03-07] Japanese nuke plant dies on drawing board
UPI
* [2006-03-05] Kansai Electric to scrap nuke plant project in Kyoto+
TMCnet)
... has effectively decided to give up plans to build a nuclear power plant in Kyotango, Kyoto Prefecture, amid strong opposition to the project from the local ...
* [2006-03-01] Ikata pluthermal plan basically OK: safety panel
Japan Times
* [2006-03-01] Unaccounted for Japanese Plutonium
CNIC
* 2005-05-22: New nuclear-fuel cycle moratorium opposed by Japan
Japan Times
* 2005-05-18: Transparent U.S. nuclear arsenal
Japan Times
* 2005-05-17: No repeat to the nuclear tragedy of Japan and Kazakhstan: international meeting
Kazinform
* 2005-05-16: Editorial: Sharper sense of nuclear safety
Japan Times
* 2005-05-16: Braking an arms free-for-all
Keizo Nabeshima, Japan Times
* 2005-05-14: How the U.S. courts a diplomatic fiasco
Tom Plate, Japan Times
* 2005-05-14: Japan reveals plans for five-party talks
Sydney Morning Herald
* 2005-05-11: Site of 1999 nuclear accident to be demolished
Japan Today
* 2005-05-11: Japan's new foreign policy
David Wall, Japan Times
* 2005-05-11: EU-Japan accord on nuclear project likely by July: commissioner
Yahoo! News
* 2005-05-10: Nixed Indian visas linked to nukes
Japan Times
* 2005-05-09: Government sponsors first A-bomb exhibit in U.S.
Japan Times
* 2005-05-09: Readers in Council: Outrageous U.S. military proposal
Don Nash, Japan Times
* 2005-05-09: Nagasaki A-bomb survivors express anger at Bockscar exhibition in U.S.
Japan Times
* 2005-05-09: Uncorking the plutonium (energy) genie
Suvendrini Kakuchi, Asia Times
* 2005-05-08: Franco-Japanese row goes nuclear
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Daily Telegraph
* 2005-05-07: French claims over Japan's ITER 'pullout' infuriate Tokyo
Japan Times
* 2005-05-07: Japanese Plutonium Program Threatens Nonproliferation Regime
Union of Concerned Scientists
* 2005-05-07: NPT group urges halt to Rokkasho plant
Japan Times
* 2005-05-07: Nagasaki A-bomb survivors express anger at Bockscar exhibition in U.S.
Japan Times
* 2005-05-07: ASEM talks kicks off amid strained ties with neighbors
Eric Johnston, Japan Times
* 2005-05-06: Japan still bidding to host nuclear project
Yahoo! News
* 2005-05-06: Japan's Nuclear Dream Could Be World's Nightmare
Suvendrini Kakuchi, IPS
* 2005-05-06: Experts urge Japan to rethink plutonium plant
Louis Charbonneau, Reuters
* 2005-05-05: Call for Japan not to run new plutonium processing plant
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* 2005-05-05: France says key deal struck on nuclear reactor project
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* 2005-05-05: Japan ready to give up plan to host ITER project
Asahi Shimbun
* 2005-05-04: EU sees 'no change' on nuclear project despite French claim
Yahoo! News
* 2005-05-04: France bullish on deal to host ITER nuclear reactor
Yahoo! News
* 2005-05-04: Japan may end bid for nuclear fusion project
Reuters
* 2005-05-04: EU sees 'no change' on nuclear project plans
Yahoo! News
* 2005-05-02: Japan ready to discuss site of ITER nuclear reactor: EU
Yahoo! News
* 2005-05-02: Europe and Japan at Odds over 'Superpower' Reactor
The Scotsman
* 2005-05-01: U.S. may allow nuke strikes over WMD
Japan Times
* 2005-05-01: Japan restarts loans to Pakistan
BBC News
* 2005-05-01: Japan scolds Pakistan on nukes, then resumes loans
Japan Times
* 2005-04-30: Enola Gay display should include A-bomb outcome, Japanese activists say
Japan Today
* 2005-04-30: Koizumi concerned over Pakistan nuclear issue but resumes yen loans
Yahoo! News
* 2005-04-28: Delegation from Japan visits Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas
Las Vegas SUN
* 2005-04-28: Japan, US agree on need to resume six-party talks
Xinhua News
* 2005-04-26: Japan gives go-ahead for new nuclear power plant
Reuters
* 2005-04-26: Japan equipment rules
Nuclear Engineering
* 2005-04-25: Nagasaki, Hiroshima mayors head to nuke arms conferences
Japan Today
* 2005-04-24: A-bomb survivors call for elimination of nuclear weapons
Japan Today
* 2005-04-23: Hiroshima A-bomb movie premieres at U.S. festival
Japan Times
* 2005-04-20: Nuclear waste arrives in Japan after being processed in France
Japan Today
* 2005-04-18: EU research chief sees deal with Japan on nuclear reactor by July
Yahoo! Australia
* 2005-04-18: 
Bin Laden's Nuclear Connection: If America had agreed to a nuclear-free world, we wouldnt face threats today
Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin, The Nation, April 25 cover date, p. 18
This essay is adapted from the authors' book "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" (Knopf). Over the past decade, Osama bin Laden has repeatedly talked and written about America's atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He says he is planning an atomic attack on America that will shock us into retreating from the Middle East, as the Japanese imperial government was shocked into an early surrender. Decades ago, Oppenheimer realized that the bomb was a Trojan horse that would soon threaten our own security as much as it threatened the security of others. He developed a plan for a nuclear-free world and did his best to promote this alternative path. His efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons at the beginning of the atomic age are as applicable today as they were then. Oppenheimer believed that in the long run, "without world government there could be no permanent peace, [and] that without peace there would be atomic warfare." Since world government was not a prospect, Oppenheimer argued that in the field of atomic energy all countries should agree to a "partial renunciation" of sovereignty. Under his plan, the proposed Atomic Development Authority would have sovereign ownership of all uranium mines, atomic power plants and laboratories. No nation would be permitted to build bombs-but scientists everywhere would still be allowed to exploit the atom for peaceful purposes. Complete and total transparency would make it impossible for any nation to marshal the enormous industrial, technical and material resources necessary to build an atomic weapon in secrecy. Oppenheimer understood that one couldn't un-invent the weapon; the secret was out. But one could construct a system so transparent that it would at least provide ample warning if a rogue regime set about to make an atomic weapon. Soon afterward, Oppenheimer's draft plan, which became known as the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, was optimistically submitted to the White House. But optimism was misplaced. While Secretary of State James Byrnes made a pretense of saying that he was "favorably impressed," he was in fact shocked by the sweeping scope of the report's recommendations. A day later he persuaded Truman to appoint his business partner, Wall Street financier Bernard Baruch, "to translate" the Administration's proposals to the United Nations. When Oppenheimer read the news, he told his Los Alamos friend Willy Higinbotham, by then president of the newly created Federation of Atomic Scientists, "We're lost." In 1946, he was asked in a closed Senate hearing room "whether three or four men couldn't smuggle units of an [atomic] bomb into New York and blow up the whole city." Oppenheimer responded, "Of course it could be done, and people could destroy New York." When a startled senator then followed by asking, "What instrument would you use to detect an atomic bomb hidden somewhere in a city?" Oppenheimer quipped, "A screwdriver [to open each and every crate or suitcase]." There was no defense against nuclear terrorism-and he felt there never would be. International control of the bomb, he later told an audience of Foreign Service and military officers, was "the only way in which this country can have security comparable to that which it had in the years before the war. It is the only way in which we will be able to live with bad governments, with new discoveries, with irresponsible governments such as are likely to arise in the next hundred years, without living in fairly constant fear of the surprise use of these weapons."
* 2005-04-15: Japan's Aomori government set to approve MOX plant
Nuclear Engineering International
* 2005-04-15: Aomori OKs MOX fuel plant plan
Japan Times
* 2005-04-15: Students translate hibakusha anthology into English
Japan Times
* 2005-04-14: Aomori OKs MOX fuel plant to be built in Rokkasho
Japan Today
* 2005-04-12: Japan to push fast CTBT activation at nuclear talk
Japan Times
* 2005-04-12: EU, Japan agree July deadline for fusion site deal
Reuters
* 2005-04-12: Japan sets July deadline for deal with EU on nuclear reactor
Agence France Pesse/Yahoo! Asia
* 2005-04-12: Japan sets July deadline for deal with EU on nuclear reactor
Agence France Pesse/Yahoo! Asia
* 2005-04-09: 1,900 protest test run of nuke fuel-reprocessing plant
Kyodo/Japan Today
* 2005-04-08: EU research chief to head to Japan next week to discuss ITER
Yahoo! News
* 2005-03-29: The price of a clean project
Takamitsu Sawa, Japan Times
* 2005-03-28: TEPCO lowers power output at Fukushima nuclear unit
Reuters
* 2005-03-28: Chirac seeks deal with Japan to break deadlock on nuclear project
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* 2005-03-26: Kepco chief to exit over steam deaths
Japan Times
* 2005-03-23: EU leaders push Japan to compromise on location of nuclear fusion reactor
Constant Brand, Associated Press 5:31 am ET
A draft statement, likely to be adopted by the 25 European Union leaders during their summit talks in Brussels, presses Japan to drop its bid to host an international fusion research facility and allow the multibillion dollar (euro) reactor to be built in France. The statement also calls on the EU's executive office, the European Commission "to make every effort to achieve that aim, in particular by finalizing" an international deal by July 2005. EU Science and Research commissioner Janez Potocnik said earlier this month the EU will want to start building the reactor at Cadarache in southern France sometime this year. Potocnik has said the best solution would be to build the reactor in France with the cooperation of all the countries involved. As consolation to Tokyo, the EU has called for a test facility for fusion materials and smaller fusion devices to be built in Japan. Potocnik said that if Tokyo refuses to resume talks, the EU could decide to proceed without Japan, possibly in April.
* 2005-03-23: New energy technologies showcased in Aichi Expo
Eric Johnston, Japan Times
* 2005-03-23: Power answers blowing in the wind
Stephen Hesse, Japan Times
* 2005-03-22: Nuclear firefighting guide finally drafted
Japan Times
* 2005-03-22: N.Korea Wants Japan Ditched from Six-Way Atom Talks
Jon Herskovitz and Martin Nesirky, Reuters
* 2005-03-19: A-bomb exhibit opens at college in California
Japan Today
* 2005-03-18: Teamwork Getting Shaky in Nuclear Game
Ryu Jin, Korea Times
...[F]or South Koreans, [North Korea] is an object of engagement for peace and co-prosperity though it is as impenetrable as unpredictable. Hence inevitable it is for South Korea to try to get along with the "brethren" of North Korea as well as the "blood-tied" ally of the U.S., struggling to go between the trust-lacking enemies across the Pacific... Most Koreans heap scorn on the Japanese, who react to a dozen of their citizens so extravagantly, while turning a deaf ear to hundreds of thousands of Koreans that fell victim to the brutal Japanese colonialism last century, political observers said... Japan's recent provocation over the Tokto islets and a history textbook reminded the people of deeply harbored patriotism, thereby unifying not only the ideologically split people in the South but also the two Koreas, divided by heavily fortified border, the observers said.
* 2005-03-18: Ukraine admits exporting missiles to Iran and China
Tom Warner, Financial Times (London, England), p. 10
Ukraine has admitted that it exported 12 cruise missiles to Iran and six to China... Svyatoslav Piskun, Ukraine's prosecutor-general, told the FT that 18 X-55 cruise missiles, also known as Kh-55s or AS-15s, were exported in 2001. None of the missiles was exported with the nuclear warheads they were designed to carry. However, Japan and the US say they are worried by what appears to have been a significant leak of technology from the former Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal. The X-55 has a range of 3,000 km, enough to put Japan within striking range of the Asian continent or to reach Israel from Iran. ... Mr Piskun's admission that Ukraine sold the missiles is the first confirmation by a government official that the exports occurred. The case was made public last month by a member of Ukraine's parliament, whose account Mr Piskun largely confirmed... Ukraine had about 1,000 of the missiles in its arsenal after the break-up of the Soviet Union, about half of which were meant to have been turned over to Russia in the 1990s and the other half of which were supposed to have been destroyed under a US-funded disarmament programme. The previous government arrested and charged a Ukrainian businessman for the exports and initiated a secret trial last year, which was still under way, Mr Piskun said. Two Russian businessmen were suspected of masterminding the sale, Mr Piskun said, one of whom, Oleg Orlov, was arrested last July in Prague in response to a Ukrainian warrant. The Czech justice ministry said it was holding Mr Orlov pending a hearing on Ukraine's extradition request. Olexander Turchinov, new chief of the SBU, has reopened the investigation and has found grounds to suspect two former arms-export officials, Mr Piskun's spokesman said. A spokeswoman for Mr Turchinov confirmed that further investigations and a secret trial were under way in connection with the case... The US embassy in Kiev said it was "closely monitoring" the investigation and wanted the findings of a secret trial made public. ... Kishichiro Amae, Japan's ambassador in Kiev, ... said the new Ukrainian government had shown its readiness to investigate the previous government's misdemeanours when it indicted three high-ranking interior ministry officers this month for the murder in 2000 of journalist Georgy Gongadze. But he said the cruise missile case was more serious. "If it is handled in secrecy, the new government will lose the confidence of the world."
* 2005-03-18: Rice urges North Korea to return to table 'immediately'
Yahoo! News
* 2005-03-17: TEPCO suspends restart of Fukushima nuke unit again
Reuters
* 2005-03-17: Japan urges North Korea to return to nuclear talks
Reuters
* 2005-03-16: Shikoku Electric Reactor Leaks Radioactive Water
Bloomberg
* 2005-03-16: Advocates only at nuke power seminar
Eric Johnston, Japan Times
* 2005-03-14: Japan Sets Example in Building NuClear Waste Dump
Kim Tae-gyu, Korea Times
* 2005-03-13: JNC fails to remove tainted soil, starts paying fine
Japan Times
* 2005-03-11: Japan to pay residents for radioactive soil
Xinhua News
* 2005-03-10: Update 1-Japan's TEPCO delays restart of nuclear power unit
Reuters
* 2005-03-09: Japan's TEPCO may build wind power plant
Reuters
* 2005-03-09: A-bomb tragedy a lesson for all: U.S. senior official
Japan Today
* 2005-03-08: Japan stands by bid for nuclear project after EU's June deadline
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* 2005-03-08: Japan rejects Europe's nuclear fusion deadline
Maggie McKee, New Scientist
* 2005-03-08: Editorial: Weak link in nuclear safety
Japan Times
* 2005-03-07: EU gives Japan until June to reach deal on nuclear project
Yahoo! UK
* 2005-03-07: Editorial: Japan-N. Korea relations
Asahi Shimbun
* 2005-03-06: U.S. retained first-strike option to keep Japan under nuke umbrella
Japan Times
* 2005-03-06: China warns US, Japan to keep Taiwan out of military pact
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* 2005-03-05: Make public love nuke power: report
Japan Times
* 2005-03-04: Japan says too early for EU political compromise call on nuclear project
Agence France Presse/Yahoo! News
* 2005-03-03: EU presses Japan to compromise on nuclear project
Yahoo! Australia
* 2005-03-03: Kepco admits negligence, not fault, in fatal reactor pipe blast
Eric Johnston, Japan Times
* 2005-03-01: Japan says no to IAEA's antiproliferation proposal
Japan Times
* 2005-03-01: US, Japan send China a message
Lin Cheng-yi, Taipei Times
December 24, 2004
* San Onofre chooses Mitsubishi to provide four replacement steam generators
August 21, 2004
Japan - followup on why the Mihama-3 steam pipe wasn't previously inspected
In 1989, a contractor was assigned to inspect the plant. The contractor kept track of inspections in notebooks, eventually tracking approximately 6,000 inspection items. In 1996, another contractor took over the inspection work. The new contractor transcribed the information in the notebooks into a computerized tracking system. In 2003, the new contractor identified the pipe involved in recent fatal accident as not being included in list of inspection items. The contractor says the utility was notified about this soon after the finding. The utility says it was unaware of the omission until the accident. The contractor from 1989-1996 was Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. The contractor which then took over was Nihon Arm Co. Mitsubishi Heavy reportedly computerized the record-keeping system during the last year or two of its contract. But Nihon Arm said it computerized the information in the notebooks on its own so it could easily collate drawings of pipes and other parts of the reactors with the list of inspection items.
[Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, "Japanese agency reports queries over inspection records at nuclear plant", August 20 2004 2248 gmt]
August 17, 2004
May 24, 2004
May 18, 2004
Japan - reprocessing plant delay, and rethinking as well
The reprocessing plant being built by Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, originally supposed to open in 2005, is now scheduled to start operations in 2006. The plant is the pillar of Japan's nuclear fuel recycling policy, but work has been delayed due to welding and other problems.
The plant's annual reprocessing capacity will be 800 tons, compared with 1,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from domestic nuclear power stations annually. To realize the long-term plan to reprocess the whole amount of spent nuclear fuel, an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel is to be built to buy time before the completion of a second reprocessing plant. But there is little likelihood the building plan will be fulfilled. "We have no intention whatsoever to build a second reprocessing plant," said an executive of an electric power company.
There are calls for a change in the plan for reprocessing all spent nuclear fuel, and to bury the spent fuel underground, as in the United States. The government's Atomic Power Commission will create a forum next month to review the long-term plan over a period of one year, industry sources said.
[Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, "Japan's nuclear fuel recycling policy thrown into doubt", May 18, 2004 2344 gmt]
May 11, 2004
Japan - 3rd plant's plans to burn MOX announced
The reactor Ikata No. 3 in Ehime Prefecture is likely to become the third facility in Japan to use pluthermal nuclear-power generation. Shikoku Electric Power Co. yesterday informed the prefectural government of its plans to burn MOX nuclear fuel there by fiscal 2010. Initially, no more than 16 of the 157 uranium-fuel elements in what are called fuel bundles -- groups of fuel elements burned in a reactor -- will initially be replaced with MOX at the No. 3 reactor in Ikata. The number of MOX elements will eventually be increased to about one-fourth of the bundle, with the maximum set at 40.
Kansai Electric Power got the green light from the Fukui prefectural governor in March for its plan to burn MOX at its Takahama nuclear power plant. Kyushu Electric Power in late April notified the Saga prefectural government and the town of Genkai that it plans to burn MOX as early as 2009 at one of its reactors there.
Source: The Asahi Shimbun, "Shikoku reactor set to be 3rd pluthermal plant", May 11, 2004
March 23, 2004
* Japan to help with Russia fast-neutron reactor project
March 18, 2004
Alaskan village offered prototype "nuclear battery" by Toshiba
The village of Galena, Alaska, is considering switching from its 28 cents/kWh diesel generator electricity to a Toshiba 4S micronuclear power plant. On paper, the Toshiba proposal to build a prototype plant could lower the cost of energy by more than 75 percent with little capital cost to the city. The 4S is a sodium-cooled fast spectrum reactor -- a low-pressure, self-cooling reactor. Toshiba representatives say the system is nothing like the infamous sodium-cooled nuclear power plants of the past. Rather, they characterize it as a "nuclear battery" -- self-contained and automated without any moving parts. At the heart of the 4S system is a log-sized uranium core, which would generate power for 30 years before needing to be disposed of and replaced. The company hopes to have a 4S system operational by the end of the decade.
[Source: Eric Mack (freelance writer and weekly News-Miner columnist), "Galena eyes energy options", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, March 18, 2004]
March 2, 2004
Japanese MOX program comes back from coma
Pluthermal power is the Japanese nuclear industry's term for power generated through the burning of plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. The method is a keystone in Japan's nuclear-fuel recycling program. The program has essentially sat inactive for years due to a public backlash following a series of scandals involving MOX-fuel data forgeries and cover-ups of accidents at nuclear plants. That's about to change. The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan has said it will burn MOX fuel at 16 to 18 nuclear reactors by fiscal 2010. Kyushu Electric Power Co. (Kyuden) announced Monday that it hopes to start churning out pluthermal power at a nuclear plant it operates in Genkai, Saga Prefecture, as early as fiscal 2008. Osaka-based Kansai Electric Power Co. has also expressed its intent to resume its pluthermal pursuits at its Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture by fiscal 2008. Kansai Electric Power is a step ahead, claiming it will introduce MOX fuel at two reactors in Takahama by fiscal 2008, and at one or two reactors at a plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture. The firm plans to place orders for MOX fuel with an overseas reprocessing firm by the end of this fiscal year.
[Source: Asahi Shimbun, Kyuden eyes saga for pluthermal plans, March 2, 2004]
December 25, 2003
Japan - operating cost estimate lowered for Rokkasho reprocessing plant
The total cost of running the Rokkasho plant -- a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant under construction in Aomori Prefecture -- is projected at 18.8 trillion yen, 110 billion yen less than an initial projection. The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan is the source of the estimate, which was dveloped by a subcommittee of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy. The subcommittee will next be asked to recommend how to ensure that the necessary funds are available over the projected 40-year plant life.
[Ref: Kyodo News Service (Japan), "Estimation for cost of running nuclear waste plant lowered", Japan Economic Newswire, December 25, 2003]
December 16, 2003
Japan finds n-plants still the cheapest, but advantage is lower
The Federation of Electric Power Companies estimates that the overall cost of nuclear power, including the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and the disposal of nuclear waste, is 5.6 yen per kilowatt-hour. This is 0.3 yen lower than coal-burning generation and 0.7 yen cheaper than producing electricity with natural gas. The federation has submitted the estimate to the government's Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy. The cost gap is narrower than those calculated by a subcommittee on nuclear power under the government advisory panel in 1999. Kyodo News Service speculates that the latest estimate could jolt long-held industry claims that Japan should promote nuclear power because it is a cheaper source of energy.
[Source: Kyodo News Service, "New estimate cuts cost advantage of nuclear power", Japan Economic Newswire, December 16, 2003]
December 12, 2003
ITER funding in Japan would come at expense of other sci-tech efforts, perhaps JAERI
The Japanese Cabinet approved Rokkasho as candidate site for ITER on condition no special fiscal measures would be implemented. That means the budget for other science and technology projects will have to be cut. Among the projects that could be affected are the high-intensity proton accelerator under construction jointly by the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization and the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI).
[Source: The Asahi Shimbun, "Dream Energy Source: Hot future", Dec 12, 2003]
November 28, 2003
Japan starts new reactor construction
Hokkaido Electric Power has been given permission to start construction of the Tomari-3 nuclear power unit - a 912 MWe pressurised water reactor - by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry. Preliminary approval processes have taken since 1998, excavation begins shortly and the reactor is expected to enter commercial operation late in 2009. NucNet news # 319/03. [Source: World Nuclear Association Weekly Digest, November 28, 2003
November 27, 2003
Operational experience of the Rokkasho Center
As of January 2003, there are 55 commercial nuclear power plants in Japan. Now, they supply us approximately one thirds of total electricity.Japanese policy has been supporting nuclear fuel recycling, including 6 fuel fabrication plants and 2 reprocessing plants being operated or under construction.
RI (radioisotope) is used as radiation sources in the fields of medicine, industry, agriculture, etc.For example, treatment for cancer or sterilizing medical instruments, application for measurement technology, utilization as tracer for researches and tests on metabolism of plants or animals.There are more than 5,000 facilities using RI, including governmental and private.
Designs, construction and operation of the Rokkasho LLW Disposal Center
Corresponding to governmental policy, JNFL was established by the electric companies to accomplish nuclear fuel cycle businesses, including low-level radioactive waste disposal.JNFL have been operating Uranium Enrichment Plant and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center in Rokkasho-mura in Aomori Prefecture.And Reprocessing Plant has been under construction.
In the Rokkasho LLW Disposal Center, we have been constructing and operating 2 types of disposal facilities, No.1 and No.2 disposal facilities.Both facilities have multiplied barriers to prevent migration of radioactivity to environment. And they are composed of some concrete pits.Both facilities have equivalent disposal capacity of 40,000 m3 (approximately 200,000 drums).
We made an application for business permission on No.1 disposal facility in April 1988, and were licensed on it in November 1990.Since start-up of No.1 disposal facility in December 1992, we have been disposing of about 135,000 drums including radioactive waste.
For No.2 disposal facility, an application for permission was January 1997, its approval was October 1998, and its start-up was October 2000.Since then, we have been burying approximately 19,000 drums.
We have been running our LLW Disposal Center for more than 10 years, without causing any radiological effects to environment.
To confirm effects on radioactive waste disposal, we have established radiation monitoring system and groundwater monitoring system surrounding the disposal site.In addition, we have been periodically surveying radioactivity exiting in nearby marsh (water, soil and life), river, crops, milk, etc.These data on radiation are released to public.
For deeper public understanding of our business in Aomori, we are deploying focused campaigns in Rokkasho-mura and its vicinities.We have been practicing many public relations activities, including home visiting, distribution of PR brochures, site visiting tour, supporting community services and events, utilization of mass media, homepage, and so on.We think visit to actual facility is the most effective activity for public acceptance.For effective and efficient operation, PA activities are done in tie with the Federation of Electric Power Companies.
[Source: The Korea Herald, "Nuclear waste repositories in Sweden, Spain, Japan", November 27, 2003 (Excerpted from presentation at the International Symposium on Radioactive Waste Management 2003)
October 18, 2003
Neutrinos - ubiquitous ghosts of the universe; research competing for funding with fast breeder reactor program in Japan
Among the most obscure particles and waves in nature, neutrinos are sometimes called the ghosts of the universe because they have little or no mass, no electrical charge and tend not to interact with other matter. They stream from the sun and other stars.
Researchers believe there are so many of them - trillions pass through our bodies each second we stand in sunlight - that knowing more about them would expand our understanding of the universe.
Astrophysicist Masatoshi Koshiba, a professor emeritus at Tokyo University, won the 2002 Nobel Prize for his work on neutrinos. Using a neutrino detector, dubbed the Super-Kamiokande, Koshiba discovered neutrinos coming from distant supernova explosions. The chamber, the world's largest of its kind, sits inside an abandoned copper mine beneath a mountain in Kamioka, about 170 miles west of Japan's capital. He has proposed government funding of a $1.8-billion research facility, to allow researchers to shoot a beam of manmade neutrinos to the Super-Kamiokande. By comparing the beam leaving the Tokaimura facility with the one that reaches the Super-Kamiokande, they could determine how neutrinos behave.
Japan's Council for Science and Technology Policy, headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, ranked the facility as the lowest priority for government spending next year, and recommended that it not be funded. Energy projects such as a prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactor should come first, the council said.
Exasperated, Koshiba called the decision "foolish." Scientists all over the world will "laugh at the council's decision", he was quoted as saying by the national Yomiuri newspaper. Koshiba has reportedly arranged to address the council on Tuesday, and is expected to push for construction to begin next year, as planned, in Tokaimura, about 70 miles northeast of Tokyo.
[Source: Kenji Hall (AP writer - Tokyo), "Japanese Nobel laureate blasts recommendation not to fund state-of-the-art neutrino reactor", Associated Press, October 18, 2003]
September 30, 2003
Fugen retrospective - future R&D, like breeders, should do better at minimizing costs and producing export sales
Operations at the Fugen advanced thermal converter reactor, located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, ended in March. It was Japan's first power-generating nuclear reactor created solely with domestically developed technology. It uses mixed oxide fuel (MOX), made of plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel and uranium. Fugen has consumed the largest number of MOX fuel rods of any nuclear plant in the world -- 772 -- since it opened in 1979. The cost of planning and constructing the plant was approximately 450 billion yen. An oversight committee of the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, in a report to be released today, reportedly notes that it costs three times as much to generate electricity at Fugen than it does at an ordinary nuclear reactor.
[Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, "Panel says govt's nuclear reactors waste money", The Daily Yomiuri, September 30, 2003]
September 26, 2003
Japan balks on big oil deal with Iran
Japan's new trade minister has linked his nation's willingness to buy oil from Iran with Iran's nuclear program. "As the only country that has experienced the attack of an atomic bomb, Japan is more sensitive than any other country to nuclear proliferation," Shoichi Nakagawa said. "This matter will have to be dealt with in its totality, taking into consideration all these aspects." Mr. Nakagawa was named minister of economy, trade and industry in this week's cabinet reshuffle. This appears to represent quite a shift from position voiced las month by Japan's foreign minister: "We pursue the policy regarding weapons of mass destruction and we pursue our goal to have the supply of oil. These are two separate policy issues." The Financial Times suggests that Japan may turn to Russia for oil instead of Iran. Japan had exclusive negotiating rights on Iran's Azadegan oil field. Those rights, however, lapsed in June. In the meantime, Iran has reportedly invited bids from some European countries.
[Ref: David Pilling and Bayan Rahman (Tokyo), "Japan signals shift on Dollars 2bn Tehran oil deal", Financial Times (London), September 26, 2003, p. 11]
August 13, 2003
N-energy policy blueprint lifts MOX, breeder programs
Japan: The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has released a nuclear energy policy blueprint which calls for continued pursuit of the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel program and the restart of the Monju fast-breeder reactor (FBR). The commission - which operates under the Cabinet Office - is conducting a review of Japan's nuclear energy policy following the plant data falsification issues uncovered in 2002. The blueprint is designed to serve as a basis for a long-term nuclear energy plan to be published by the government in 2004. (Nuclear Market Review, 8 August, p3; SpentFUEL, 11 August, p3; see also News Briefing 97.06-7)
[Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA News Briefing NB03.32-8, August 12, 2003]
Restart #5 approved for TEPCO
Japan: Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) plans to restart its Fukushima I-3 nuclear power reactor on 13 August, having received approval from Fukushima governor Eisaku Sato. The unit will be the fifth reactor that TEPCO has restarted following the shutdown of all 17 of the company's reactors for inspections. The company expects its fuel bill to increase to Y200 billion (US$1.7 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2004, from its previous estimate of Y160 billion (US$1.4 billion), as it keeps its oil-fired power plants running longer than expected after a delay in getting approval to restart some of its reactors. (Bloomberg, 12 August; see also News Briefing 03.30-6)
[Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA News Briefing NB03.32-9, August 12, 2003]
Hamaoka-4 restarted after a year; no shroud repairs needed
Japan: Chubu Electric Power Co has restarted its Hamaoka-4 nuclear power reactor following a one-year inspection and maintenance program. The unit was taken out of service in September 2002 to conduct inspections after the discovery of cracks in the reactor shroud. However, Japan's nuclear safety agency determined that no repairs were necessary for the unit to operate safely, so Chubu has restarted the unit without any repairs to the shroud. (Nuclear Market Review, 8 August, p2)
[Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA News Briefing NB03.32-10, August 12, 2003]
City to tax spent fuel rods
Japan: Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has reluctantly agreed to accept a new local tax on spent nuclear fuel. The tax will be assessed by the city of Kashiwazaki in Niigata prefecture on spent fuel rods from TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant as early as this October. Reports indicate that TEPCO's acceptance is largely due to its recognition of the economic difficulties faced by communities near nuclear energy facilities. (Nuclear Market Review, 8 August, p2; see also News Briefing 03.24-14)
[Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA News Briefing NB03.32-13, August 12, 2003]
August 8, 2003
*
UPDATE - TEPCO posts Q1 loss, hit by nuclear plant closures
David McMahon, Reuters 5:10 am ET -- As Japan is experiencing one of the coolest summers in recent memory, the feared electricity shortages due to shut down of Tokyo Electric's nuclear plants have not materialized. The utility has seen its costs of producing power rise by the equivalent of more than $800-million as it uses more expensive alternatives -- a figure so big that the company posted a loss for the calendar quarter ending in June. The restart of nuclear plants has been slower than expected. TEPCO Director Toshikazu Funo told Reuters that the company now expects its nuclear power utilisation rate to come in at 45 percent for the year, down from its previous target of 50 percent.
August 6, 2003
* Japan is about to begin commercial reprocessing and use of MOX FUEL, sez JAEC working group
August 1, 2003
* Nuclear plant in Japanese prefecture plays big part in residents' lives
Michiyo Ishida, Channel NewsAsia --
The village of Rokkasho (pop. 12,000) has been thankful for the economic development associated with a nuclear
fuel cycle facility there. So much so, that it wants to attract a fusion energy project too. Town
authorities have set aside over 70 hectares for the development of such a project. National government payments to the village related to the existing facility total approximately US$90-million/yr.
July 3, 2003
* Japan - new plant construction approved - Tomari-3 online by 2009
* Japan - Joyo fast breeder reactor restarted after almost 3 year upgrade project
July 2, 2003
* Japan - TEPCO ready to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa unit 4 after recirc pipe replacement
* Japan - local officials cautious but friendly to TEPCO re restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa unit 4
* Japan - description of various crack findings at the 7 units at TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa site
June 30, 2003
Japan and China compete for first dibs on Siberia oil pipeline
Japan is sweetening its offer to Russia for a deal involving a proposed 1-million barrel/day oil pipeline from Siberia to the port at Nakhodka. It is competing against China, which has offered to help build a shorter, less costly pipeline. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Russia has been leaning towards the China deal, and even signed a preliminary agreement with China last month, but the Japanese offer seems pretty generous. Japan would pay "as much as the entire $5 billion cost of a 2,400-mile pipeline it wants Russia to build", as well as covering "the costs of finding and extracting enough oil to fill the pipeline", according to the paper.
Japan wants alternatives to its current dependence on Mideast -- from where 88% of Japan's oil comes. China is looking for sources to fill its growing demand. The paper reports that "construction challenges make it unlikely that more than one pipeline will be built at a time -- meaning the second project would have to wait for years", and that there are "doubts that Russia can pump enough oil to fill two large pipelines". [Source: Martin Fackler, "Japan Presses to Win Russian Pipeline --- Last-Minute Enticement, Reflecting Thirst for Oil, Could Derail Chinese Deal", Wall Street Journal, June 30, 2003, p. A14]
June 23, 2003
* Japan urged to stop its rush to reprocess spent fuel
June 20, 2003
Japan gears up for coming summer of electricity shortage
Starting Monday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. will begin intensive outreach program to help residents know when conservation is needed to keep demand in sync with supply. Forecast of the next day's supply and demand will be posted on TEPCO's web site every day at 5:30 pm, and will be updated using latest weather forecast at 9 am each day. TEPCO has also bought 30-second TV slots every day following the midday news programs on major TV stations. The broadcasts will continue through September 5. The outreach program alsa has radio and telephone hot-line components.
[Ref: The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo), "TEPCO to release daily electricity forecasts", June 21, 2003, p. 3]
June 9, 2003
June 3, 2003
* N. Korea - Japan Is As Concerned About Abductions As Nukes
* Japan - 4 of 17 TEPCO plants expected to be back online by end of June; equivalent of 8-10 needed
May 26, 2003
* North Korea's illicit trade - Japan ready to crack down, but not with sanctions or blocking cash
* North Korea - Japan PM sez they won't tolerate Korea's possession of n-weapons
* North Korea offers to accept adding Japan and South Korea to talks, IF bilateral talks first
* North Korea faces united USA-Japan-South Korea - all intolerant of n-weapons
Feb 2003
The non-market value of nuclear power in terms of energy supply security and environmental quality has been estimated to be one yen/KWhr and two yen/ Kwhr respectively in the Japanese environment.
[Source: excerpted from a technical paper by Akira Omoto, General Manager of the Nuclear Power Engineering Department at the Tokyo Electric Power Company, presented at the European Nuclear Conference (ENC) 2002, sponsored by the European Nuclear Society in Lille, France in October 2002, as reprinted in Nuclear Plant Journal, Jan/Feb 2003, p.Ê27]
* 2000 - In preparing the UNSCEAR 2000 report on "Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation", the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation sent every member nation a Survey of Exposures, asking expert quantification of the radiation exposures to populations in that nation from natural radiation sources. The respondents for Japan were Y. Sasaki, K. Fujitaka, and Y. Hirao (National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba-shi).
* Japan 1998
[Source: Nuclear Energy Agency (2000), as presented by THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER: A Study Conducted at The University of Chicago, August 2004, p. 2-5]