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The first consignment of solid high-level waste belonging to Sellafield's Japanese customers has safely arrived in Japan from the UK following a journey by ship of over six weeks. The waste arose from the reprocessing of those customers' used nuclear fuel at Sellafield.

The Monju prototype fast reactor (FBR) in Japan has completed a government-mandated procedure to ensure the reactor is safe to restart following a sodium coolant leak which forced it out of action almost 15 years ago. It could restart as early as next month.

The first consignment of solid highly active waste belonging to Sellafield's Japanese customers has started its journey back to Japan from the UK. The waste arose from the reprocessing of those customers' used nuclear fuel at Sellafield.

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has today begun operations at its new plant specifically for the production of forged turbine blades for nuclear power plants.

A second reactor has resumed commercial operation at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant. All seven units at the plant were shut down following a powerful earthquake in July 2007.

Japan's first ever nuclear power reactor to use mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies is now operating at full capacity, fuel supplier Areva has announced. Kyushu's Genkai 3 was loaded with the fuel fabricated from uranium and the plutonium recovered from previously used nuclear fuel in October....

Unit 3 of the Genkai nuclear power plant was scheduled to be restarted today having been partly loaded with mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies. The move marks the first ever use of the fuel in Japan.

Toshiba has begun operations at its new engineering facilities at its main nuclear power engineering centre in Yokohama, Japan. The company expects the facilities to play a key role in the global expansion of its nuclear business.

The loading of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel into the third reactor of the Genkai nuclear power plant in Japan is set to begin on 3 October, ahead of the first ever use of the fuel in the country.

Reactors shut down safely at Japan's Hamaoka nuclear power plant this morning as the Shizuoka region was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

A new reactor pressure vessel head was shipped from Kobe, Japan bound for Texas today. Meanwhile another is inching its way across California.

Japanese plans for 16-18 reactors to be using mixed oxide (MOX) fuel by 2010 have been put back by five years, the country's Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPCO) has announced.

[Reuters, 1 June] Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) has been given approval by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to raise output at unit 7 of its Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant to 100% as part of a test run. The 1315 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) was restarted...

Japan Steel Works (JSW) reported records sales and profit in the year to 31 March, which it attributed to the steady growth of its nuclear department. The company produces large forgings for reactor pressure vessels, steam generators and turbine shafts.

Russia's Techsnabexport (Tenex) has signed its first long-term uranium enrichment services contracts with a group of American utilities, as well as one with a Japanese utility.

Kazakhstan's newest in-situ leach (ISL) uranium mine, Kharasan 1, has been officially opened at a ceremony attended by Kazakh, Japanese and Canadian dignitaries. It should produce 3000 tonnes of uranium per year by 2014.

Test operations have begun at Tomari 3, ahead of commercial operation in December this year. The 912 MWe reactor has taken around seven years to construct.

The Japanese Diet has unanimously approved a bill to revise the country’s nuclear damage compensation laws. Under the revised law, the nuclear liability of plant operators will be doubled by 2010.

[Japan Today, 17 April; Bloomberg, 16 April] Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd (JNFL) plans to start construction of a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel plant at Rokksaho in November. The company has said it is aiming for a startup date of 2015 for the plant, revising the date of 2012 specified in an earlier construction...

Japan and Jordan have signed a memorandum of cooperation in nuclear energy. Under the agreement, Japan will assist the Middle Eastern country with its introduction of nuclear energy.

Japan's nuclear power fleet continues to suffer low capacity factors, primarily caused by the prolonged shutdown of seven earthquake-affected reactors.

The Japan Electric Power Development Co Ltd (J-Power) has signed an agreement with Global Nuclear Fuel Japan (GNF-J) for the supply of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies for use in the Ohma nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture, Japan.

Two Japanese firms have taken a stake in Areva's Georges Besse II (GB-II)enrichment plant, while USEC has announced it has customers for half of the output of its own forthcoming facility.

Toshiba and AtomEnergoProm could set up a joint venture in the area of nuclear fuel, as well as cooperate to advance power plant design and construction.

A high court in Japan has overturned a lower court's ruling that unit 2 of Hokuriku Electric Power Co's Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa prefecture should be shut down due to safety concerns.