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A photographer named Nonoko Kameyama decided to take pictures of mothers (with their children) who are against reopening the nuclear facilities in Japan. Kameyama is unquestionably moved to use her craft to support her views. In 2006 I took a break and travelled to Nepal.  That was a turning point...

We’ve kept an eye on the English versions of some of Japan’s national newspapers to see if they have thawed the nuclear energy deep freeze there. It’s more an issue of curiosity than an overtly partisan pro-nuclear view, because whether Japan begins to feel comfortable with nuclear energy after it implements...

This affects Germany, too, and I suppose any country with a democratic form of government: One of the first policy victims of Japan's incoming Liberal Democratic Party is likely to be the commitment to phasing out nuclear power. The promise made after Fukushima does not sit well with the pro-business...

Industry/Regulatory/Political U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has recommended requiring engineered filters to the containment vents for Mark I and Mark II boiling water reactors as a post-Fukushima response. A staff paper released this week for the commission’s consideration said an alternative...

They have elections : More than 20 months after a catastrophic nuclear disaster that triggered massive protests against atomic energy and fueled public opinion polls backing the phase-out of reactors, a pro-nuclear party won Japan’s parliamentary election. The result left anti-nuclear proponents in shock...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said Monday that its survey of a second fault zone directly beneath one of two reactors at the Tsuruga nuclear energy facility in Fukui prefecture found it likely to be seismically active. NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said that...

The NRC has issued its final interim staff guidance describing one acceptable method for conducting integrated assessments of external flooding hazards at nuclear energy facilities. The guidance is intended for use in cases where a re-evaluation of the flooding hazard exceeds levels defined by the utilities...

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Japan overnight, triggering tsunami warnings across the island nation. The warnings were lifted soon after and the quake caused very little damage. We’ve got out eyes on the situation at Fukushima Daiichi, and things there look quiet according to ABC News: “No...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority last week began examining a fissure beneath Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tsuruga nuclear energy facility in Fukui prefecture to determine whether it is associated with a nearby active fault. NRA officials investigated samples of rock strata...

Plant Update Tokyo Electric Power Co. has released English translations of its Management Policy Toward Restoration of the Fukushima Daiichi site and environs as well as a 71-item Intensive Reform Implementation Action Plan for executing the policy. The plan includes building an international reactor...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Japan’s nuclear utilities and vendors have created a new group called the Japan Nuclear Safety Institute (JANSI), which the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan said is modeled on the U.S. Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and the World Association of Nuclear...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s new two-year business plan, released last week, projects that costs for decontaminating the area around Fukushima Daiichi and paying damages to evacuated residents will double from the $62.5 billion estimate from April. The company also expects...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority is investigating whether Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi nuclear plant—the only operating facility in the country—is on an active fault line. The NRA heard last week from a group of experts who have surveyed the fissure. The agency...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The operators of U.S. nuclear energy facilities last week approved a contract to develop two regional response centers that will store emergency equipment for rapid delivery in case of an extreme event at any nuclear plant. “The regional response centers will further increase...

Industry/Regulatory/Political AREVA has announced a contract to provide all 23 of Japan’s pressurized water reactors with passive autocatalytic recombiners, which will help prevent hydrogen from building up in emergency situations. The company said it will install more than 100 of the devices, which...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The five commissioners heading Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) unanimously agreed last week to formulate new severe accident regulations for nuclear energy facilities, in line with the country’s atomic energy law that parliament amended in June. Accident scenarios...

Haninonen, Japan's largest coal facility A double whammy for energy companies in Japan: it’s really breathtaking : Japan's new tax on carbon emissions will cost utilities about 80 billion yen ($1.02 billion) annually from 2016, adding to their already high costs of running power stations after...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The post-Fukushima response steering committees of the nuclear energy industry and Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviewed accomplishments and work in progress during a joint meeting last week. Nuclear energy industry representatives highlighted completion of inspections...

Industry/Regulatory/Political A new study by the Electric Power Research Institute that examines options for minimizing the release of radioactive materials in a severe nuclear accident says that a combination of strategies would be much more effective than depending on any single measure. In particular...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The Japanese cabinet has endorsed a government policy panel’s strategy to gradually reduce nuclear as part of the country’s energy mix, while dropping a proposal to end the use of nuclear energy “in the 2030s.” Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said days after the strategy was...

This is from the New York Times : In an abrupt turnabout, the Japanese government on Wednesday stopped short of formally adopting the goal it announced just last week — to phase out nuclear power by 2040 — after the plan drew intense opposition from business groups and communities whose economies depend...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The Japanese government’s Energy and Environment Council last week proposed a goal of phasing out nuclear energy “in the 2030s.” The new policy follows recent public surveys that indicate support for ending the country’s reliance on nuclear energy. The panel said the 48...

The New York Times has the story : In its first comprehensive energy review since the Fukushima disaster, Japan said on Friday that it would seek to phase out nuclear power by the end of the 2030s — but only after a longer-than-expected transition that would give power companies decades to recoup their...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The Japanese government has announced a plan to rebuild some areas in the Fukushima Daiichi evacuation zone, enabling residents in those areas to return in two years once power, water and sewage services are restored. Returning residents will be offered work in decontaminating...

Plant Update Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it found no significant damage or deformation to two unused fuel assemblies it had removed last week from the used fuel storage pool of Fukushima Daiichi reactor 4. The utility said it also will examine fuel pellets from inside the assembly rods. The relatively...