Japan ‘cannot avoid’ nuclear weapons debate, defense chief Koizumi says
Japan Times, By Jesse Johnson, 19 July 26
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has urged Japan to more openly debate nuclear weapons’ role in the country’s defense, a rare instance of a sitting Cabinet member broaching the highly contentious issue.
“While this is a difficult issue for Japan to discuss, one topic we cannot avoid is nuclear weapons,” Koizumi said during an online news program recorded Friday ahead of a trip to Europe.
Koizumi’s remarks come as the government weighs updates to key documents outlining Japan’s security policy — including a possible revision of the country’s decades-old pledge not to produce, possess or host nuclear weapons.
Formulated in 1967 and known formally as the country’s “three non-nuclear principles,” the pledge has consistently been upheld by governments since.
Senior government officials have traditionally shied away from public remarks on nuclear arms-related issues, as Japan — the sole country to have been attacked with the devastating weapons — retains strong sensitivities more than 80 years after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
According to an April poll by the Asahi Shimbun daily, 75% of those surveyed said the principles should be maintained, while 21% said they should be revised.
In December, a senior government official who advises Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on security triggered a firestorm after expressing a personal opinion that Japan should have nuclear weapons.
Still, talk of allowing U.S. nuclear weapons to be brought into Japan has grown after Takaichi sidestepped a question about her commitment to maintaining the pledge in its entirety last November in parliament.
In his comments, Koizumi said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had prompted France to boost its nuclear capabilities and pushed Finland to OK the deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory, dramatic shifts that he said were “being advanced under the serious assumption of a potential emergency.”
“Considering this, I believe we must make even greater efforts to explain that the security environment in which Japan finds itself requires us to approach every policy with a strong sense of crisis, discussing and advancing them without any taboos,” Koizumi said……………………………………………………………………………………………… https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/07/19/japan/politics/koizumi-japan-nuclear-weapons-debate/
Hiroshima marks 81st atomic bomb anniversary as mayor deplores the pursuit of nuclear weapons
By ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6 August 2026, https://www.dailymail.com/wires/ap/article-16032643/Hiroshima-marks-81st-atomic-bomb-anniversary-mayor-deplores-pursuit-nuclear-weapons.html
TOKYO (AP) – Hiroshima on Thursday marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japanese city, with its mayor criticizing major powers for waging wars and urging them to stop justifying the possession of nuclear weapons as a method of deterrence.
“Downplaying the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and accepting the use of force to pursue one´s own prosperity risk cycles of violent retaliation that could ultimately result in another Hiroshima or Nagasaki,” Mayor Kazumi Matsui said.
Too many political leaders still consider nuclear deterrence a realistic approach and legitimize violence, which “simply pushes a world without nuclear weapons further into the distance,” Matsui said in his peace declaration at the ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. He also called on each citizen to learn lessons from the past and take action.
About 50,000 people, including representatives from some 120 countries and regions including the United States and Iran, were to attend the ceremony. A minute of silence was held while a peace bell rang out at 8:15 a.m., the time when a U.S. B-29 dropped the bomb on the city.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who attended the memorial for the first time as prime minister, said she will take “a realistic approach” toward achieving a world where nuclear weapons are never used, within the framework of the United Nations’ treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
This year´s ceremony comes at a time of looming speculation that Takaichi´s hawkish government, which supports the idea of nuclear deterrence, may ease Japan´s postwar three non-nuclear principles when it compiles new security and defense documents later this year.
Takaichi has advocated a review of the principles for a possibility of dropping the third one – of not permitting nuclear weapons to be brought into the country.
Takaichi said Japan has maintained its postwar three non-nuclear principles, but fell short of expressing commitment for sticking with that policy into the future.
Survivors have expressed frustration and worry over growing support for the possession of nuclear weapons for deterrence by the international community, including Japan.
Japan is under the protection of U.S. nuclear umbrella and has repeatedly sought Washington’s reassurance for its commitment and a stronger protection. Because of that, Japan´s government has rejected the survivors´ request to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons or attend its meetings as observers.
The bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city and killed 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and Japan´s nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.
The number of survivors has fallen to 91,105, about a quarter of the original number, with their average age exceeding 86. Survivors worry about fading memories, as the youngest of the survivors were too young to clearly recall the attack.
“The horror of nuclear weapons is just one lesson of Hiroshima. Another is the need to build a world in which the threat or use of these weapons becomes unthinkable,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a written statement.
“Hiroshima stands as an inspiring example of resilience, renewal and hope. Across generations, its people remind us that, even after the darkest moments, we can choose – and build – a different future,” he said, calling for “dialogue over division, cooperation over confrontation and common security over narrow advantage.”
Japan begins 22nd release of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater into ocean
July 31, 2026, https://en.people.cn/n3/2026/0731/c90000-20483845.html
Japan on Thursday began a new round of discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea, marking the 22nd such release since the controversial operation began in 2023.
According to the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), about 7,800 tonnes of wastewater containing approximately 1.3 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium will be released into the ocean.
The latest discharge, also the fourth round of wastewater release for fiscal 2026, is scheduled to continue through Aug. 17.
In the fiscal year that began in April, TEPCO plans to release a total of about 62,400 tonnes of wastewater in eight rounds.
Struck by a 9-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.
Despite concerns and opposition from the international community, Japan unilaterally launched the ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant in August 2023. So far, TEPCO has completed 21 rounds of discharges, and around 165,000 tonnes of wastewater have been released into the sea.
China makes major nuclear expansion move, adds four new projects in $25 billion energy investment
China’s latest nuclear expansion will also feature the upgraded Hualong One Version 2.0 technology at the Taipingling Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong Province.
Interesting Engineering, By Bojan Stojkovski, Aug 01, 2026
China is moving forward with a major expansion of its nuclear energy capacity after approving four new power projects expected to attract more than $25 billion in total investment.
The newly approved facilities include Phase II of the Jinqimen Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang Province, Phase III of the Taipingling Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong Province, the Zhuanghe Nuclear Power Plant in Liaoning Province, and the Laiyang Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong Province.
Together, the projects will add eight new nuclear power generating units, according to media reports, as China continues to increase its reliance on nuclear energy as part of its broader energy strategy.
Six-unit nuclear base in Zhejiang with upgraded reactor technology
The Jinqimen Nuclear Power Plant is set to become the fourth nuclear energy base in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, as China continues expanding its low-carbon power infrastructure. The plant’s Phase II development will use Version 2.0 of Hualong One, China’s domestically developed third-generation nuclear reactor technology, while also allowing participation from private capital. ……
China’s latest nuclear expansion will also feature the upgraded Hualong One Version 2.0 technology at the Taipingling Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong Province, according to CGN Power Co. Each reactor unit at the facility will have a generating capacity of 1,217 megawatts, with the six-unit plant expected to produce more than 55 billion kWh of electricity annually once fully operational.
Meanwhile, the Zhuanghe Nuclear Power Plant in Liaoning Province and the Laiyang Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong Province represent new nuclear development sites, according to statements from the companies involved.
The Laiyang Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong Province will feature two Guohe One reactors, China’s independently developed third-generation nuclear technology, according to SPIC Industry-Finance Holdings Co. Each unit will have a generating capacity of 1,543 megawatts, marking another addition to China’s expanding nuclear power infrastructure.
Moreover, with an investment of around $18 billion, the Laiyang plant is expected to become China’s largest nuclear power station by installed capacity once all six units are completed. The project also marks the beginning of large-scale, standardized construction of Guohe One reactors, China’s independently developed third-generation nuclear technology…………………..https://interestingengineering.com/energy/china-makes-major-nuclear-expansion-move
‘The heat took him from me’: India’s death toll rises amid escalating heat crisis
As extreme heat claims the lives of workers in
India’s poorest areas, many fear the true mortality rate is being
dangerously undercounted.
Guardian 29th July 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/29/extreme-heat-deaths-india-climate-crisis-environment
“Jobs Jobs Jobs” screams the media again as the nuclear lobby plans to brink Japan’s nuclear wastes to Cumberland
COMMENT Plan to Bring Failed Japanese Fast Breeder Reactor’s Contaminated Sodium to Workington – https://radiationfreelakeland.substack.com/p/plan-to-bring-failed-japanese-fast
Japanese reactor decommissioning to bring jobs to UK
Federica Bedendo 26 July 26, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kmxl6ydpjo
New “highly skilled jobs” have been promised in the UK as part of plans to clean-up a nuclear reactor in Japan.
Cavendish Nuclear and Amentum are planning to build a facility at the Port of Workington, Cumbria, to support the decommissioning of the Monju Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR), in Fukui Prefecture, Japan.
Cumberland Council, which owns the port, said the plant would support skilled jobs directly and across the supply chain.
Leader Mark Fryer said: “This is fantastic news for the port as this new development, subject to the necessary approvals, will bring good quality jobs to Workington.”
The construction phase is expected to be worth more than £25m and employ about 20 people during its seven-year operation, those behind the plans said.
The FBR was a sodium-cooled reactor that had been designed to burn most of its spent fuel, however it encountered several problems during its lifespan.
The Workington plant would be treating the sodium coolant, turning it into sodium hydroxide, a commercially usable product.
West Cumbria is a well-known area for the nuclear sector, due to the presence of the Sellafield nuclear plant, which is being decommissioned.
The Labour-led council has started work to clear the land at Workington’s Oldside as part of its wider regeneration plans in the town.
The aim is for the area to become a hub for clean energy, manufacturing and logistics, the council said.
A Cavendish Nuclear and Amentum spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to adding real social value to west Cumbia and this new venture will contribute to the regeneration on the Port of Workington and support the local economy.”
Can an AI Black Box Be Trusted to Run a Nuclear Reactor?
By Haley Zaremba – Jul 25, 2026, https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Can-an-AI-Black-Box-Be-Trusted-to-Run-a-Nuclear-Reactor.html
- China’s Chinese Academy of Sciences unveiled ADANES at WAIC in Shanghai, a five-layer AI system meant to control nuclear reactors from design through decommissioning.
- Nuclear officials call full AI integration inevitable, but today’s opaque “black box” large language models clash with the transparency nuclear safety demands.
- The push comes as Microsoft, NVIDIA and a wave of U.S. startups race into nuclear power to feed AI’s soaring energy needs, sometimes outpacing safety oversight.
China has unveiled a daring new plan to integrate artificial intelligence throughout the nuclear energy life cycle. This week, at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) revealed a new plan for safely integrating artificial intelligence into the nuclear sector, called ADANES – the Accelerator-Driven Advanced Nuclear Energy System. The system “fundamentally changes the safety logic that governs conventional nuclear reactors” and marks a major turning point in the AI revolution as well as the global nuclear renaissance.
While nuclear disasters are historically rare, their potential fallout is massive. But there is potential for artificial intelligence to lessen this risk. According to Interesting Engineering, “Disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima have reminded us time and again, that the risk of an accident remains with this technology, and we need to prepare for the worst scenarios. A technology like AI is well suited for this role as it can process large number of signals coming in from an operational reactor and shut it down in the earliest stages of a mishap.”
Wang Shoujun, the president of the Chinese Nuclear Society, makes the argument that the integration of large language models into every corner of the economy, including nuclear energy, is an inevitability. By accepting this as fact, the scientists behind the ADANES believe that the responsible thing to do is get ahead of the trend and focus on planning and safety measures, rather than trying to prevent AI from infiltrating the nuclear power sector. Wang says that, through the use of ADANES, “AI will play a core role throughout the full life cycle of nuclear energy by improving quality, efficiency and safety.”
However, today’s large language models operate under great opacity, and this ‘black box’ functionality is fundamentally at odds with stringent nuclear energy safety requirements. We need a far greater level of transparency and a deeper understanding of how large language models work and will be applied in this context. According to a recent report from China Daily, ADANES can be used to establish such an understanding.
“The AI architecture consists of five layers — a unified data infrastructure, physics-native world models, physical-system control, intelligent-agent coordination and continuous evolution — embedding AI throughout the system’s full life cycle, from design and commissioning to operation and maintenance,” the report states. China is also developing a national-scale supportive infrastructure to provide an “engineering verification platform” for ADANES in order to shore up the long-term stability and viability of the system.
It’s true that the artificial intelligence boom is already finding its way into the nuclear energy sector in various ways and to varying degrees. Earlier this year, tech giants Microsoft and NVIDIA announced that they are jointly rolling out an AI-powered toolkit designed to cut down on arduous permitting, design, and engineering processes that have made new nuclear plants notoriously slow and expensive to build in the United States.
Ushering in a new digital era for nuclear power, the toolkit “provides end-to-end tools that combine AI and digital twins for creating faster iterative design and engineering solutions,” according to a March report from Interesting Engineering. “Licensing and permitting is handled by Generative AI for document drafting and gap analysis.”
Furthermore, the push to develop new and advanced nuclear energy generation capacity is also being largely driven by the AI boom. Silicon Valley is getting increasingly involved in funding and developing next-gen nuclear technologies in order to fuel the rapidly growing energy demands of generative AI, which are projected to far outstrip energy additions unless we make some major breakthroughs. China is not the only nation making unsettlingly daring decisions when it comes to nuclear power. A wave of U.S.-based startups is also eagerly crowding into the sector with concerning disregard for safety measures, creating a concerning security environment in the world’s largest economies.
U.S. Prioritizes Small Nuclear Reactors Across Southeast Asia
By Charles Kennedy – Jul 24, 2026, https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Prioritizes-Small-Nuclear-Reactors-Across-Southeast-Asia.html
The U.S. has identified cooperation on small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) as a key priority in its engagement with Southeast Asia as regional electricity demand continues to climb.
Speaking after Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN Kevin Kim said the administration was in “deep discussions” with several governments in the region over the new technology.
The renewed push for SMRs comes on the heels of the memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea at the NATO summit on July 7. Under the agreement, the three countries will work together to accelerate the deployment of small modular reactors in third countries, initially across the Indo-Pacific.
While Kim declined to provide specifics on any potential deals, he emphasized that cooperation on SMRs was “an absolute priority for the administration,” adding that the reactors would play “a critical role” in meeting future energy demand.
The comments underscore a broader U.S. strategy to expand its energy footprint in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on LNG, grid technologies, and small modular reactors. As part of that strategy, the U.S. unveiled a $1.5 billion investment platform in early June to support the build-out of energy security infrastructure in India and Southeast Asia.
Separately, the U.S. outlined several new energy initiatives alongside Rubio’s ASEAN meetings, including a $60 million grant to enable energy sector investment in the Philippines, $17 million in funding to secure critical mineral supply chains across the Mekong region, and $5 million to develop power markets across Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Washington’s latest efforts to expand its energy presence across Southeast Asia reflect the administration’s broader energy agenda: increase LNG exports, advance small modular reactor technology, and secure critical mineral supply chains.
Fukushima nuke plant struggles to clear radioactive waste debris
By TOMOYUKI SUZUKI/ Staff Writer, July 25, 2026 https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16663961
Fifteen years after the nation’s worst nuclear accident, the upper floors of the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant remain littered with wreckage from a hydrogen explosion.
Just clearing all the radioactive waste, a significant step toward decommissioning, remains a mountain to climb at the crippled plant, which suffered triple meltdowns.
The huge amount of debris must be cleared before the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., proceeds with the removal of spent nuclear fuel assemblies stored in the water-filled cooling pool located on the upper portions of the No. 1 reactor building.
But the long-overdue clearance would require TEPCO to construct new interim storage facilities in a race against time to keep up with the increasing waste volume in what is likened to a “cat and mouse game.”
Experts on nuclear decommissioning say TEPCO and other stakeholders should tackle reducing the radioactive waste as an urgent priority in tandem with the greatest challenge of removing the melted nuclear fuel.
The No. 1 reactor building holds 392 spent fuel assemblies in the cooling pool, apart from the melted nuclear fuel.
A new crane installed on the upper floor is expected to load debris from the hydrogen explosion into containers for the transfer to an on-site solid waste storage facility. The clearing work began on June 22.
The hydrogen explosion at the No. 1 reactor building occurred on March 12, 2011, the day after the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami struck Japan’s eastern Tohoku region, resulting in the loss of power at the facility to cool the reactors.
The blast blew off the structure’s upper floors, scattering numerous pieces of the roof and the overhead crane.
Today, the No. 1 reactor building is shielded with a giant retractable cover, which measures 56 meters by 66 meters. The cover, together with a new crane, weighs about 7,900 tons, the equivalent of two Tokyo Towers.
The cover was installed in January to prevent radioactive dust from escaping into the air and rainwater from seeping inside during the spent nuclear fuel recovery, which is scheduled to begin between fiscal 2027 and 2028.
TEPCO has been conducting checks of the upper floors for potential large cracks. It has been moving some debris through a remote-controlled demolition system.
Containers holding the waste from the clearance work will be stored temporarily in a solid waste storage facility at the plant.
Known as the No. 10 storage facility, it consists of A, B and C buildings. Buildings A and B have been in use since 2024. The newest one, building C, is 50 meters by 180 meters and 20 meters in height.
Inside building C, containers are neatly stacked. Receptacles with readings of high levels of radiation are sited in the center of the building and surrounded by ones with lower readings, which serve as shields to lower air dose rates in the surrounding area.
In contrast, the grounds outdoors appeared jumbled. Trees chopped down to create space for tanks and working space for operators were left lying on some parts of the grounds while waste containers were piled up in the open.
In addition, TEPCO still relies on makeshift storage in areas along the coast that stores waste on an impermeable liner spread underground and covered with soil.
The company intends to house all the radioactive waste in the indoor facilities by fiscal 2028 to safeguard the containers from fire risks and corrosion.
Before the nuclear disaster, the nuclear plant had eight waste storage facilities. The No. 9 and No. 10 facilities were added after the 2011 accident. Construction of the No. 11 facility is underway for the planned opening for May 2028.
If everything goes as planned, the nuclear plant’s capacity for waste storage would rise to 216,000 cubic meters by the end of fiscal 2028, sufficient for an estimated 207,000 cubic meters of waste to be produced by the time.
It is clear, however, that TEPCO may need additional storage space. The company is considering constructing a No. 12 facility, given that the plant’s storage capacity is projected to be full by fiscal 2035.
The entire situation is even more concerning as little progress has been made in the discussion of the final disposal of the vast amount of radioactive waste.
Moreover, waste produced from the treatment of contaminated water, such as slurry and sorbents, is not included in the materials bound for these storage facilities.
TEPCO will transport parts of such waste into the No. 1 large-scale waste storage facility during the current fiscal year. The storage area, which measures 23 meters by 186 meters and 17 meters in height, underwent seismic retrofitting recently and is ready for use.
The big question is the total amount of radioactive waste that will be generated.
The utility estimates that there will be around 800,000 cubic meters of waste by the end of fiscal 2036. But it has not provided a figure for the overall amount during the decommissioning process.
An Atomic Energy Society of Japan committee advising on the decommissioning of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant estimates there will be about 5.6 million cubic meters of radioactive waste–equivalent to 4.5 Tokyo Domes–unless reduction measures are taken.
TEPCO plans to sort waste by radiation level for interim storage. Of the projected 800,000 cubic meters of waste, 70 percent is eligible to be held in solid waste storage facilities.
While the company aims to halve the volume of this waste, it is set to recycle the remaining 30 percent.
Scrap metal or concrete waste with a dose of 0.005 millisievert per hour or more will be cut or partially crushed to reduce the size. For waste with a dose of less than 0.005 millisievert per hour, TEPCO will consider having it melted for recycling.
But the facility for melting metal will likely be completed between fiscal 2032 and 2034, three years behind schedule, due to a design review.
The amount of melted nuclear fuel, or fuel debris, is estimated at 880 tons at the No. 1 through No. 3 reactors where the meltdowns occurred.
TEPCO plans to eventually retrieve all the fuel debris, but it has yet to determine the final disposal method.
Satoshi Yanagihara, a guest professor for nuclear decommissioning at the University of Fukui, called on TEPCO to more aggressively reduce the waste volume.
“Since utilities’ primary focus is on operating power plants, they tend to invest less in the management of nuclear waste in terms of money and human resources,” he said. “Recovering melted fuel is certainly a daunting challenge, but TEPCO should also grapple with how to lessen the waste volume simultaneously.”
Plan to Bring Failed Japanese Fast Breeder Reactor’s Contaminated Sodium to Workington
Marianne Birkby, Jul 24, 2026, https://radiationfreelakeland.substack.com/p/plan-to-bring-failed-japanese-fast
Japan is looking to get shot of nuclear waste from its failed experimental “fast breeder” Monju reactor and Workington’s MP along with Cumberland Council is only too happy to help. “Subject to the necessary planning and regulatory permissions, Cavendish Nuclear, together with its delivery partner Amentum, will be constructing a new facility at the port. This development is part of their wider project to support the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) with decommissioning of the Monju Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR), in Fukui Prefecture, Japan.”
Monju Fast Breeder Reactor was a failed £7.2bn experiment in creating a nuclear plant that would burn its own spent fuel (this is what George Monbiot and others have been advocating in their much vaunted nuclear enthusiasm).
It was only operational for 250 days before it was decommissioned. Japan has long since pulled the plug on Monju, an experimental fast breeder nuclear reactor that was plagued by accidents, cover-ups and cost overruns.
Now our nuclear obsessed Cumberland Council and MP are fizzingly saying that Japan’s failure will be Workington’s gain as they scramble to accept the unacceptable, radioactively contaminated sodium coolant aka nuclear waste from yet another failed nuclear experiment and this time its not even our own. Have they stopped to ask why Japan does not want to have the wonderful opportunity of cleaning up this radioactive mess? It has been sitting around long enough as construction started on Monju in 1986 with the reactor achieving criticality in April 1994. The reactor has been inoperative for most of the time since it was originally built. The main product – an expensive toxic mess.
Below is a description of just one of the accidents at Monju in its short operating life
On December 8, 1995, a prototype fast breeder reactor, Monju, located in Tsuruga City, 350km west of Tokyo, was operating at 40% power Refer to JNC’s detailed technical explanation in English of Monju and the accident at http://www.jnc.go.jp/zmonju/mjweb/index.htm.. The Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp (PNC), a government controlled organization, operated this reactor. At 19:47 high temperature liquid sodium coolant at one of the three secondary heat exchangers started leaking through a broken thermometer sheath (designed by IH Company, OD: 10mm, ID: 4mm, Length: 150mm) on the piping and it ignited on contact with air. As shown in Fig. 1, the primary heat exchangers are designed to take heat out of the core of the reactor to the secondary heat exchangers, which then transfer the heat to steam generators for power. Because of this design, it was a simple fire caused by the leakage of chemically reactive but non-radioactive sodium coolant. But due to the delay in shutting down of the reactor, 640kg of the sodium leaked in 3 hours and caused some unexpected damage by the fire and chemical reactions to the surrounding structure
Here on original – excellent diagrams and explanation of the accident
The PNC had been always asked by neighbors as well as anti-nuclear organizations whether their nuclear reactors are absolutely safe. They felt constrained to reply “yes” under the circumstances. Under these conditions, the initial cover up of hiding the videotapes taken at the site and of showing them after editing and the PNC’s delay (of about one hour) in informing the neighboring community agencies of the accident ignited a fierce protest by the public.
This example teaches the students following lessons:
Influence of quality of engineering works
The small design errors in the cheap component which may come from lack of competence and care of designers in the IH Company and JNC as the user, caused the accident.
The cover up of the video tapes and delay in informing others of the accident
The cover up decision was made by managers including ex-engineers. When I asked our students in the class if they do the same under the situations, one-third of them said they might although they think it is a very stupid act. The delay of informing the accidents is mainly due to lack of the system oversight and to the bureaucracy within the JNC organization. These caused loss of public trust in general and have delayed the several tens of billion dollar project at least 6 years, although the government wants to resume the project as soon as possible.
Importance of professional work in accidents
The manuals to handle this kind of the accident were not made although they had some for other types of sodium coolant leakage. Manuals are necessary and useful especially in simple operation. But in accidents like this, which no one had expected and which are generally much more complex than those anticipated in manuals, professional judgments are much more important and necessary. In this case, the air conditioners, which had not been shut down, continued to supply fresh air to the fire.
Learning from past experience
The earlier experimental fast breeder reactor, Joyo, which was designed based on practical experiences by the engineers of previous generation, had not had any serious sodium leak accident for 18 years since its start of the operation in 1977. Most of these engineers, however, were retired or moved to other job as time passed. New generation of engineers might have thought it easy to handle. This is the problem of transferring and learning engineering experience and skills between generations.
Responsibility of managers (ex-engineers) to the public
Engineers know “nothing is absolutely safe”. But sometimes political pressure forces managers to say yes to the public on the absolute safety question. But the more realistic question form the public is that the engineers make a maximum professional effort to eliminate the safety hazard. Engineers should have realized the responsibility of clarifying the situation. After a long discussion on the safety including the following two accidents, the Committee of the Nuclear Safety Commission in Japan formally declared in “The White Paper 2000 on Safety of Nuclear Energy (in Japanese)” approved on March 27, 2001 that “none can say nuclear energy is absolutely safe”.
US and Japan clash over meltdown liability in $40bn nuclear power deal
Japan’s participation in a $40bn nuclear power project in the US has hit
a roadblock over fears that its lenders might have to assume liability for
any meltdown on American soil.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed during
a visit to Washington in March that Japan would provide funding and
industrial co-operation to build next-generation small modular reactors in
Tennessee and Alabama.
The project was agreed as part of Tokyo’s
commitment to invest $550bn in the US, a promise given in return for lower
US tariffs on Japanese exports under Donald Trump’s “liberation day”
regime. But details of the project are still being thrashed out between
Tokyo and Washington because of concerns on the Japanese side about their
potential liability in a nuclear accident, according to four people
familiar with the discussions.
The US commerce department has offered
verbal reassurance that the state-backed Japan Bank for International
Cooperation and other Japanese institutions would not take on any liability
for a potential nuclear accident, said the people. A person close to
commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said he had personally assured Japan it
would not have any liability in relation to the projects. However, that
promise has not been put in writing in legal terms — a process that could
take months or years of complex regulatory discussion to settle, said the
people.
FT 23rd July 2026, https://www.ft.com/content/4b9d0e1a-c423-4b14-a7fe-d4988e24c7c0
Bangladesh’s Nuclear Power Play Is a Test for Emerging Economies
By Alex Kimani – Oil Price, Jul 14, 2026,
- Bangladesh is betting on nuclear power with the $12.65 billion, 2.4-GW Rooppur plant to strengthen energy security and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels and Indian electricity.
- The Russian-built project has faced years of delays due to the pandemic, sanctions, currency pressures, and global conflicts.
- While Rooppur will supply up to 15% of Bangladesh’s electricity, the country is already looking to smaller, cheaper SMRs for future nuclear expansion.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… The heavy financial burden and the political controversy are likely to render Rooppur the last large-scale nuclear plant Bangladesh builds. Moving forward, Dhaka is shifting its attention to Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), with the government already in talks with Western and Chinese firms, signaling a quiet realignment away from total reliance on Russian energy partnerships, Bloomberg reports.https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Bangladeshs-Nuclear-Power-Play-Is-a-Test-for-Emerging-Economies.html
2009 quake may have prompted data rigging by central Japan nuclear operator
July 10, 2026 (Mainichi Japan),
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260710/p2g/00m/0bu/008000c
NAGOYA (Kyodo) — Chubu Electric Power Co. may have begun manipulating earthquake resistance data for its nuclear power plant in central Japan after a 2009 earthquake subjected one of its reactors to shaking beyond its design limits, a source familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The latest revelation came after the utility admitted earlier this year that it had, by no later than 2012, begun cherry-picking favorable data to set earthquake-resistance standards for the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant, which it has been seeking to restart.
The data rigging was initially believed to have begun under tougher safety requirements imposed after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, which was triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. But the source said the practice may have begun even before the disaster, as part of efforts to restart the No. 5 reactor after it was shut down following the 2009 earthquake.
In the magnitude-6.5 earthquake that struck Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, in August 2009, the No. 5 reactor experienced seismic shaking several times stronger than that recorded at the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors, partially exceeding its design limits.
Chubu Electric found that unusual ground conditions had amplified the seismic waves. After the No. 5 reactor automatically shut down in the quake, the company allegedly began generating seismic data and selecting favorable results to avoid being ordered by the government to implement additional earthquake-resistance measures, according to the source.
The company switched to a different contractor around the same time, allowing it to generate seismic wave data more quickly and “creating the perfect circumstances and motive,” the source said.
The nuclear regulator at the time approved the safety of the No. 5 reactor in late 2010, paving the way for its restart in February 2011.
The fresh allegation could mean Chubu Electric engaged in data manipulation involving the Hamaoka plant’s three operable reactors, further undermining confidence in the country’s nuclear safety screening process.
“Details of what happened will be determined through a third-party investigation. We will cooperate sincerely with the inquiry,” Chubu Electric said in a statement.
Located on the Pacific coast in central Japan, the Hamaoka complex sits near the expected epicenter of a potential massive earthquake in the Nankai Trough. It was shut down in May 2011 at the request of then Prime Minister Naoto Kan over safety concerns.
Chubu Electric applied for state safety screenings between 2014 and 2015 to restart the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors, but the review process has been halted amid the scandal.
According to a report compiled by Chubu Electric in March this year on its data misconduct involving the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors, the utility told regulators it had generated 20 sets of seismic motion data under different conditions and selected the one closest to the average — known as the “representative wave” — to establish a benchmark for earthquake-resistant design.
In reality, however, the company had been generating numerous combinations of seismic motion data and representative waves before selecting a set from among them. In 2018, it began deliberately selecting the representative wave and ensuring the other data were consistent with it.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority also recently revealed it had learned from an external source that Chubu Electric continued manipulating data even after the investigation began in May 2025.
North Korea vows boost to nuclear buildup, military intelligence
North Korea will strengthen its nuclear force “both in quality and
quantity” and expand the role of its military intelligence agency focused
on South Korea, state media said Friday.
Pyongyang is under widespread
sanctions over its nuclear programme, and the two Koreas remain technically
at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty.
The announcement comes after North Korea has repeatedly spurned South Korean
President Lee Jae Myung’s dovish overtures, labelling Seoul its “most
hostile” enemy and declaring itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.
Daily Mail 10th July 2026,
https://www.dailymail.com/wires/afp/article-15967405/North-Korea-vows-boost-nuclear-buildup-military-intelligence.html
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
Nuclear energy and waste are “a poison,” Kano says, that don’t fit into the philosophy of Ainu people, the Indigenous group which inhabited Hokkaido before it was annexed in 1869 by imperial Japan.
Japan Times, By Chermaine Lee, Jul 6, 2025
Plucking the resonant strings of a tonkori — a broad, sword-shaped instrument that’s been played by the Indigenous Ainu people for generations — Oki Kano, a Japanese musician of Ainu descent transformed a club in Kyoto into a vibrant tapestry of sound, mixing together rock, Ainu folk and dub music as part of a tour earlier this spring.
Refusing to be labeled an activist, Kano has woven his rebellious spirit and a nod to Indigenous rights into his music, which moved anti-nuclear activists following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Perhaps most notably, he made a speech at a United Nations meeting later that year that clued some people into the issue of using Indigenous land for nuclear plants and waste storage.
Nuclear energy and waste are “a poison,” Kano says, that don’t fit into the philosophy of Ainu people, the Indigenous group which inhabited Hokkaido before it was annexed in 1869 by imperial Japan.
These days, Indigenous land rights have added another layer to the division of opinions in Suttsu and Kamoenai, two wind-blown fishing communities in the prefecture, over whether to host a permanent underground repository for Japan’s nuclear waste. Residents of the two municipalities, with fewer than 4,000 people combined, have expressed conflicting views on the prospect after their respective mayors volunteered for a feasibility study on the prospect in a bid to secure all-important subsidies.
‘An Ainu problem’
Kano’s U.N. speech regarding Hokkaido and Japan’s nuclear energy inspired American scholar ann-elise lewallen, a professor at the University of Victoria in British Colombia, specializing in modern Japan studies and Indigenous and environment rights, to start a yearslong research project into how a potential nuclear waste dumping ground in ancestral Ainu land might violate their rights.
Although there are no current Ainu communities in these two villages, the professor told The Japan Times during her research trip in Hokkaido that any energy decisions in the prefecture are “an Ainu problem” because of land rights issues
Vocal opponents like Kano aside, Ainu people have not raised the issue of nuclear waste en masse, with many more focused on salmon fishing rights. Still, lewallen says their consent is essential under United Nations principles to protect Indigenous rights. Without it, Japan is carrying out what she calls “energy colonialism.”
In 2007, Japan was among the 143 countries that voted in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. The declaration states that governments shall “take effective measures” to “ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of Indigenous people without their free, prior and informed consent.”
But the declaration is nonbinding and Japanese law does not currently recognize the Ainu peoples’ rights to Hokkaido’s land, an issue that is currently a focal point in a high-profile court case over salmon fishing rights.
It was only in March when the absence of Ainu consent on the nuclear waste study was mentioned for the first time during a meeting held by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO) with Suttsu residents about the site, anti-nuclear activist and Suttsu resident Kazuyuki Tutiya said………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/07/06/energy/hokkaido-ainu-nuclear-waste-storage/
1 This Month
of the week – Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition – Working together for the abolition of n\nuclear weapons – https://www.hiroshimadaycoalition.ca/
No Nuclear in Cwm Llynfi! Stop the nuclear power station near Maesteg.
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