Japan adopts new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy

Not much surprise there.

However, perhaps it should look towards the mini-reactors developed by Rolls-Royce as an alternative to huge megastructures.

Japan adopted a plan on Thursday to extend the lifespan of nuclear reactors,

That's was to be temporary solution, now becoming permanent policy in Japan?

The LDP listening to public opinion and not big business again??? Sadly not.

Stupid move!

Japan adopted a plan on Thursday to extend the lifespan of nuclear reactors, replace the old and even build new ones, a major shift in a country scarred by the Fukushima disaster that once planned to phase out atomic power.

There was never any real plan to phase anything out. Those ideas were tossed about by Abe and company following the disaster to appease the people.

The supply of uranium from Russia is not reliable. Some small modular nuclear reactors have designs that manage the nuclear waste problem by just leaving it in the ground, forever. I hope Green technology doesn't mean the green glow from the plutonium.

Shouldn't the title read "LDP Adopts New Policy....". The Diet is not in session and has passed no such legislation. Accuracy is important in journalism.

A very sensible and timely decision. More nuclear power generation means less dependence on oil and natural gas imports. You can’t go back to the Stone Age and live in a cave without electricity.

Japan buys its uranium from Australia, Canada and Kazakhstan.

The cost of building new reactors has greatly increased to about $15-$23 billion and takes 5-10 to construct.

Nuclear energy costs are about $150 per MWh while renewable energy is low less than $40 per MWh.

Since 2011, many nuclear engineers have left the industry. Universities cut back on courses.

Getting local agreement to build new reactors will be difficult.

In 2019 power companies sold some of their huge stocks of uranium.

https://www.mr-sustainability.com/stories/2020/nuclear-power-2

Good.. Clean and cheap if done properly.

Shouldn't the title read "LDP Adopts New Policy....". The Diet is not in session and has passed no such legislation. Accuracy is important in journalism.

They may have adopted it in the last session just now that it is cold and people are extra busy they announce it in passing hoping that not as many people will see the announcement.

As mentioned above - regarding Rolls-Royce SMR's, you can read more here:

https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/small-modular-reactors.aspx#section-why-rolls-royce-smr

Always a great idea to build nuclear reactors on one of the world most seismically active fault areas. Geologists refer to this area as the ring of fire for a reason.

Will Japan have to pay for spewing nuclear waste into the ocean for the last 11 years? Perhaps a shorter life span is better to help control world over population anyway. Why should Japanese consumers have to pay more for carbon based power? Why not build some hydro stations in some of the many bays in Japan. Solar? Wind? If costs are so high for carbon based fuels these alternatives should be cheap even to nuclear power. However, it is much harder for corrupt governments to profit for power generated on a decentralized basis.

The arrogance and selfishness of men to satisfy their short term needs at the expense of long term benefits repeats world wide daily.

Great news for the future of Japan!

Another problem is the nuclear liability law which limits the amount paid by the power companies for a nuclear accident which is ¥120 billion. The cost of Fukushima will be many tens of trillions.

Good. No cutting corners. No crony backhand payments. Punishment of 10-20 non-negotiable prison sentence AND massive fines/asset seizure for anyone involved in any activity that could risk the health and safety of the public, that includes politicians, regulators, and energy company executives. Japan must become less reliant on expensive hydrocarbons, even if they still need to import the uranium from overseas.

The cost of building new reactors has greatly increased to about $15-$23 billion and takes 5-10 to construct.

Similar to the Olympics then

Excellent measure, the new 5 generation nuclear reactors are safer and their waste is only decontaminated in 30 years..

Less dependence on gas and coal..

A minor detail from the article-

Prime Minister Kishida also said Thursday that the government will do more to find candidate sites for a final repository for high-level nuclear waste that Japan does not yet have. Preliminary studies have begun in two small towns in Hokkaido, angering some residents.

Abe pulled resources away from Fukushima to support the Olympics, one of Kishida's proposal to fund his war toyz is to pull tax revenue dedicated to the restoration of the Tohoku area, and now the LDP government wants to do this. Japanese should be reminded it was the LDP and their policies that created the conditions for the disaster at Fukushima. There are still thousands who can't return home and who knows how much the decommissioning and clean up is going to cost. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the predecessor of the NRA was revamped and the policies and regulations became very stringent. As soon as the LDP regained power it was again revamped but this time it was watered down, and this is the NRA that we have now. Bottom line; earthquakes, nukes and incompetence is a bad mix.

About SM (NUCLEAR) R's...

https://news.stanford.edu/2022/05/30/small-modular-reactors-produce-high-levels-nuclear-waste/

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/06/06/world/small-nuclear-reactors-radioactive-waste/

With a drop in population, and the efforts people will make to conserve energy because of the price, I really don't see power generation being such a lucrative market in the future. There will be less need for power with less people.

So much for getting away from nuclear power. See:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/14/japan-end-nuclear-power

A very stupid decision made by the greedy and myopic LDP. See:

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14578094

Nuclear energy is the way to go. Especially with the newly discovers nuclear fusion technology.

Japan as natural resources poor country have no other choice.

so have to take risk and take in consideration what may happen if Fukushima 2 will happen anytime later.

…mini-reactors developed by Rolls-Royce as an alternative to huge megastructures.

Thanks for the heads up on RR SMRs. Clean power is good, but MORE power is needed especially in the developing world.

Nuclear energy costs are about $150 per MWh while renewable energy is low less than $40 per MWh.

Renewable energy is fine, but the problem of MORE energy remains.

That "if" is impossible in Japan. I,ll take it you dont live in Fukushima prefecture.

The biggest lesson from the Fukushima disaster should have been to design reactors whose emergency power backup systems are not on the ocean side and thus more easily knocked out by tsunamis - as Fukushima’s was.

There is no electricity cleaner than nuclear... except when it goes wrong.

The plants that have gone wrong however are all early generation. The newer ones have improved technology. I can't help but wonder if it's not worth it. The problem is that with both Chernobyl and Fukushima, it was human error that led to the issues, putting business/political issues over safety. And there will always be humans who will screw up.

Japan is smart enough to make effective and efficient use of its mix energy. While the rest of the woke countries who go for (unspoken) energy scour the forest for wood for heating this cold and dark winter. In doing so, they are producing more carbon which they are trying not to do. LOL

The supply of uranium from Russia is not reliable.

thats why Japan gets much of its Uranium from Australia, better to buy from a friend than an adversary

Japan sends the uranium to France to be made into fuel rods. Plutonium is also sent to France to make MOX fuel rods. There is the question of the Plutonium stock of 50 kg.

Spent MOX fuel rods. Kansai Electric said it will store the spent MOX fuel rods temporarily in a cooling pool at the plant, as Japan has no reprocessing facilities.

The problem is that with both Chernobyl and Fukushima, it was human error that led to the issues, putting business/political issues over safety. And there will always be humans who will screw up.

An addition. A tsunami knocked out the Fukushima reactor. Human error? More like LDP stupidity. The LDP have only listened to one another with dissent ignored and silenced. The reactor should not have been built in Fukushima. Further reactors can never be safe. We need solar power, a cheaper and safer source of energy.

There are lots of arguments against nuclear power, not least of which the fact that the average cost over-run on building a plant is 200%, i.e., they cost 3x what they are supposed to, but this still seems inevitable.

You cannot expect people to electrify their homes, electrify their cars, and build a floating train (lots of juice) without masses of electricity. The cars and homes (specfically Eco Cute boilers) need offpeak electricity produced overnight. This is now an advantage (formerly a downside) of nuclear power plants in that they produce power 24/7 without following load. Electric cars and water heaters can soak up this overnight nuclear power (the original intention of Eco Cute) without having to pump water uphill at hydro plants. I doubt there is enough copper in the country for people to have 400V fast electric car chargers at home. Japan is full of homes where a toaster and microwave trip the fusebox.

A big slice of the Japanese economy is cars, so Japan will need to promote electric ones to keep this industry competitive. It is literally adapt to survive.

Myth Busters. Nuclear energy is cheap, clean, and safe.

This article reeks of anti-science, anti-nuclear propaganda or in the most generous terms, extreme ignorance of the facts around the energy situation.

Two tasks lie before the world regarding electricity: 1) Decarbonization of electricity AND 2) A massive increase in the amount of electricity produced.

The later goal is imperative so that we can electrify EVERY sector of the economy - cars, buildings, manufacturing, etc. We also need to consider that developing countries will also need electricity on the order of a few times what is produced per capita in the rich world today, lest they have a future of burning fossil fuels to drive, etc.

Renewables, like nuclear, have many externalized costs, namely to do with curtailment (batteries, etc). There is also no possible way to scale either renewables or nuclear alone to power a fully electric human civilization. There is not enough lithium to mine to make batteries for every house to store solar of night use.)

Hence, we NEED nuclear AND renewables... or we will destroy the world.

Nuclear energy is extremely safe when compared to other methods and uses much less land than any of the renewable methods.

Don't build water-cooled reactors where tsunamis happen.

Look into Molten Salt reactors.

Use solar, wind and wave power where it makes sense. Perhaps all new construction should have solar panels on the roofs and be encouraged to have the roof face south to improve solar efficiency.

There's no single answer, but with some solar energy created on most homes and some batteries to store the excess for a few days, the grid wouldn't need to be nearly as large and less coal, gas and nuclear would be needed.

Japan is taking the lead in designing hydrogen and ammonia turbines.

This is yet another case of Keidanren and corporate influencers dictating government policy.

Hitachi, the Japanese nuclear reactor maker, is one of the top corporate "donators" to the LDP.

Although utility companies stopped direct "donations" to political parties in 1974, executives of nine utility companies made individual "donations" totaling 47 million yen to the Liberal Democratic Party in 2009. There is nothing to indicate that this behaviour has changed. Utility companies reportedly also make political donations to the LDP through their affiliated companies.

This doesn't smell right to me. Our goal is to get rid of both nuclear power and nuclear weapons. But because of Russia, the oil prices are going up so we have to rely on nuclear power, and because of Russia, we need nuclear weapons as a deterrent... I don't buy this story!

What is the problem with LNP or LPG. Burns clean and there is plenty of it. I have no problems using gas as a stop gap solution until fusion energy comes online in few decades. When fusion come online will be able to farm cattle triple the amount of today.

Great to see we're going in the wrong direction again. Will they ever learn?

This is mere turn back to "safety myth" as before Fukushima nuclear disaster.

LDP government who value large corporation prioritize to benefit major power companies than safety of general public, ease regulation unscientifically, and ignore nuclear plants' design service life or even historical lessons from Fukushima despite country where strong quake often occur.

Nuclear regulation authorities completely lost independency from economy ministry who want to benefit nuclear industries as same as before Fukushima nuclear disaster.

LDP government who are inciting or exploiting excessive social anxiety "North Korea and China start to attack Japan at any time" and expand arms-race policy, this time, expand dependence to nuclear plants that have risk to be military target.

While Japanese far-rights who support LDP government say "no wonder that North Korea and China ignore international law to preemptive attack Japan", on the other hand, say also "nuclear plants in Japan are never attacked due international law".

Clearly contradict politics has done in Japan, but major media don't even mention it.

theResident

Today 08:18 am JST

Good.. Clean and cheap if done properly.

Yeh but this is Japan...remember Fukushima??? Money speaks louder than safety!

No surprise here, but can we please have international presence and technical advice headed so as to not overlook the kind of simple but "unexpected" shortcomings of the Fukushima plant.

Are they friggin' nuts?

 prolonging the operating life of aging ones beyond a 60-year limit

They already raised the limit from 40 years and now they are going to extend it further. It’s easy to win a game when you keep changing the rules to suit yourself.

Who would fly in a 60-year-old plane?

Who would drive a 60-year-old car?

Who would live in a 60-year-old Japanese apartment?

Without serious investment on continuous maintenance.

Japan really should tough it out for a decade or so. That population is going to be under 120 million in 10 years, and under 110 million in 20 years. Also, fusion power has come to save the day! I just read in the news that a major breakthrough in fusion research has really made things look peachy. I can’t imagine it being another 20 years away. They been saying that in the 80’s.

The inflation rate in France, which has a rational energy policy is 6% but in Germany where they are cancelling everything, the inflation rate is 10%. Cheap reliable energy is fundamental to every aspect of life, Japan is on the right track.

Awa no Gaijin

   Myth Busters. Nuclear energy is cheap, clean, and safe

> Wallace you did hear about the Fukushima disaster ?

Did you miss the "Myth Busters" The original slogan over the road leading to the Fukushima NPP was "cheap, clean, safe"

Following the man-made nuclear disaster, that myth was busted.

Russia's physicists are way ahead of Japan in turbine technology.

Really.

https://www.japan.go.jp/kizuna/2022/08/hydrogen_power_generation.html

Awa no Gaijin

   Hitachi, the Japanese nuclear reactor maker, is one of the top corporate "donators" to the LDP.

> Nope !

> Your incorrect.

> The reactors were purchased from the USA but assembled by Japan.

The six reactors were designed by GE. Ebasco provided the architectural design, and Kajima constructed the nuclear complex.

GE also supplied the Units 1, 2 and 6. Units 3 and 5 were supplied by Toshiba and Unit 4 by Hitachi.

Glad to see common sense and wisdom prevailed.

Hard not to worry about Japan on a daily basis. Threats all around, at all times.

Being energy independent is crucial, needed and necessary for Japan's survival! Winters are getting worse, economy is getting worse, energy becoming more expensive by the day.

Thank you for doing something in advance, instead of waiting for the car to hit you, before changing policy.

Unleash Japan’s nuclear power! Midori energy means going back to the dark ages of gathering wood for fire and heat.

Midori energy

Even the Japanese don't say 'midori' in regards to energy, they use the term グリーン (green).

Nuclear power generation has created the socio-economic reliance that we need to avoid. We must move in the opposite direction. Conservation of energy is the key to self-reliance and sustainability. The unintended side effects are more than just environmental and human error at Fukushima and Chernobyl. Look what's happening in Ukraine at the power plants there. They are targets in the world is about to go to war, radioactive dirty bombs. Sun flares are also a very serious risk that nobody talks about on here.

@Strangerland

i used “midori” instead of “green” because when u say something against green energy, your post is cancelled out.

Awa no Gaijin,

Hitachi, the Japanese nuclear reactor maker, is one of the top corporate "donators" to the LDP.

Nope !

Your incorrect.

Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy:

80.01 percent owned by Hitachi

19.99 percent owned by GE

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy:

60 percent owned by GE

40 percent owned by Hitachi

https://www.nucnet.org/news/ge-and-hitachi-launch-new-nuclear-company

Hitachi owns the company making the reactors.

Hitachi is one of the top corporate "donors" to the LDP.

Note the difference between your and you're. As in you're pedantic.

Better with full--size nuclear as this is a nececerenment for the ability for transmitting huge amount of energy-

What is the problem with LNP or LPG. Burns clean and there is plenty of it.

Greenhouse gases. The combustion releases them, just without as much soot. We don't want the make Earth into another Venus, do we?

LNP and LPG marketing about "clean" isn't true, but it makes for good marketing, until the numbers get run. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-gas-climatebox-explainer/explainer-cleaner-but-not-clean-why-scientists-say-natural-gas-wont-avert-climate-disaster-idUSKCN25E1DR 50% better than coal still isn't very clean. Burning fossil fuels of any kind is a danger to humans and the ecosystem.

The amount of out-gassing that happens where LPG/LNP are captured is about 2x higher than the industry claims according to govt studies. They actually go to the wells and use sensors to see the methane released. Methane is 80-90x worse as a greenhouse gas compared to CO₂. Methane leaks are extremely common. Anyway, read the link above to get slightly educated on this.

The power density per m² or m³ of land use is vastly higher for nuclear power over all other types of power generation or storage.