Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has finally announced that it will decommission its Fukushima No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant, more than seven years after the outbreak of the ongoing crisis at its tsunami-ravaged Fukushima No. 1 plant. If realized, all 10 nuclear reactors in Fukushima Prefecture would be dismantled. The presence of the No. 2 power station has offended Fukushima Prefecture residents, many of whom are still living as evacuees, and others who have suffered groundless rumors about radiation contamination. TEPCO needs to swiftly draw up a road map that will enable smooth decommissioning of the complex. Like the No. 1 plant, the No. 2 complex was also hit by tsunami generated by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. However, some of its external power sources remained intact, averting meltdowns at the plant.
Mainichi 15th June 2018 read more »
Tokyo Electric Power Co. announced June 14 that it will move to decommission the currently offline Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant, located near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant. Since the catastrophic accident seven years ago, the local governments and assemblies have been making repeated calls on the utility to decommission the facility, along with the stricken plant. This is the company’s belated move to respond to the calls by making a decision that has long been clearly inevitable.
Asahi Shimbun 15th June 2018 read more »
Japan’s plan to reuse soil contaminated with radiation from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant accident for agriculture is sparking something of its own nuclear reaction. Residents and other critics don’t want any part of it.
BNA 14th June 2018 read more »
A nuclear reactor at a trouble-hit complex in southwestern Japan restarted operations Saturday for the first time in more than six and a half years amid lingering safety concerns. The No. 4 unit at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture is the fourth reactor of operator Kyushu Electric Power Co’s to go back online and the ninth nationwide under stricter safety rules implemented after the Fukushima crisis in 2011. The utility aims to generate and supply electricity from Wednesday and start commercial operations in mid-July. The restart sparked local protests, with around 100 people gathering in front of the plant.
Japan Today 16th June 2018 read more »