Tokyo backs bills to use nuclear reactors past 60 years

The Japanese government has approved a bill to allow the substantial extension of the lifespan of nuclear reactors to beyond the current maximum of 60 years, by excluding time spent on post-Fukushima safety scrutiny.

The cabinet on 28 February agreed to support the bill, as part of its efforts to ensure stable electricity supplies and drive decarbonisation. The bill will next come under discussion during the current ordinary parliament session that will end on 21 June.

Japan will still have to maintain the current 40-year nuclear lifespan with a one-time option to extend this by 20 years while keeping safety a priority. But the lifespan of reactors will be effectively extended by separating off-line periods, such as those for safety inspections and legal injunctions, from the original service life, following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Any extension will be contingent on getting approval from the trade and industry (Meti) minister, while securing safety confirmation from the country's nuclear regulation authority (NRA).

Under the new law, Japanese nuclear power operators will be also obligated to gain permission from the NRA for their safety checks on an aging reactor every 10 years or less after its 30-year operation period is over.

The bills also call for acceleration of the back-end processes, while strengthening functions of the Nuclear Reprocessing Organisation of Japan (NuRO), by adding the management of nuclear decommissioning. Nuclear power operators will be mandated to pay the agency for scrapping reactors, once the bill is enacted.

Nuclear power is becoming a key aspect of Japan's energy policy, especially after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which disrupted the global fossil fuel market. The country needs to ensure energy security, while cutting energy costs and meeting its long-term net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goal.

Japan has geared up efforts to revive the nuclear sector, especially after Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida on 24 August 2022 said his government will take all measures to restart nuclear reactors that have cleared the NRA's stricter safety inspections. The government is also pushing for the development of next-generation nuclear power, potentially to replace the 21 reactors that Japan has scrapped since 2011.

Japan's energy policy — in line with its target of cutting its GHG emissions by 46pc by its 2030-31 fiscal year from 2013-14 levels — assumes nuclear will make up 20-22pc of its power mix. With the share of nuclear power at just 8pc in 2021-22, the country will need to bring many more reactors back on line over the next seven years.

By Motoko Hasegawa