Japan to start old nuclear reactor checks in October

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) will begin receiving applications for nuclear safety inspections of aged reactors from October, ahead of the country's new nuclear safety regulations that will take effect on 6 June 2025.

Under the new rule, all the country's reactors that will be operating for or beyond 30 years as of 6 June 2025 will in advance need to secure approval from the NRA for safety plans by 5 June 2025. Nuclear power operators will have to obtain such permission every 10 years or less after their 30-year operating period is over.

The NRA will start safety screening of each old reactor. But it is still unclear how long the process will take. If a nuclear power operator fails to secure safety permission by 5 June 2025, the company could shut down the reactor, an official at the NRA said.

The Japanese government on 12 September decided to enforce safety rules from 6 June 2025, along with a regulation to allow the country's reactors to continue operating past 60 years by excluding the time spent for safety scrutiny following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. These new rules have been incorporated in the green transformation decarbonisation power supply law, which will most likely take effect on 1 April 2024.

Tokyo has intensified efforts to utilise existing nuclear reactors to ensure the country's energy security and reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while developing next-generation reactors. The country's energy policy, which is in line with its target of cutting GHG emissions by 46pc by its April 2030-March 2031 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 6pc in 2022-23, the country will need to bring more reactors back on line over the next eight years.

By Motoko Hasegawa