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All Towns and Villages of Fukushima Prefecture Call for Decommissioning of All Nuclear Reactors in the Prefecture
In a general meeting of the council of local assembly
chairpersons of Fukushima Prefecture on June 3, the council unanimously
adopted a special resolution calling for decommissioning of all of the
nuclear reactors in the prefecture. The next day, a general meeting of
the Fukushima Prefectural Local Assemblies was held, and they also
unanimously adopted the same special resolution.
The decision to decommission all six of TEPCO’s nuclear reactors at
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was finally taken last January,
but despite repeated requests by Fukushima Prefecture, and resolutions
by the prefectural assembly and all 59 of the prefecture’s local
assemblies, both the national government and TEPCO have delayed any
decision on the four units at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station.
The resolutions by the council of local assembly chairpersons and the
local assemblies are calling for early realization of the
decommissioning of the reactors at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power
Station.
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Complete Liberalization of Retail Electricity Sales
A revised Electric Industry Utility Law was established on June
11, stipulating complete liberalization of retail electricity sales by
2016. This ends the regional monopolies of the ten electric power
companies of Japan (called “general electricity utilities”), which have
divided Japan into the ten exclusive regions that they supply.
Retail sales to large consumers have already been liberalized. Starting
in March 2000 with users able to receive 20,000 V or more and
contracting for 2,000 kW or more, the scope was expanded to include
smaller users from April 2004 and again in April 2005, but there has
been considerable resistance from the general electricity utilities to
full liberalization for households, small factories and other
small-scale users, and thus liberalization has been repeatedly delayed.
Full liberalization has finally been achieved, and in fact, there are
many new entrants. Future complications are thus predicted to occur
along with the diversification of fees and services.
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Members of the Nuclear Regulation Authority to Change
Two members of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), which
was established in September 2012, will be replaced this September
after two years of service. Retiring from their posts will be Deputy
chairman Kunihiko Shimazaki and Commissioner Kenzo Oshima. Commissioner
Shimazaki, in particular, often confronted the power companies
regarding recognition of active geological faults within or near
nuclear power plant grounds, incurring opposition from nuclear energy
proponents. His replacement is seen as stemming from this opposition.
Replacing them from September will be Tokyo University Graduate School
Professor Satoru Tanaka and Tohoku University Professor Akira
Ishiwatari, who were approved by the House of Representatives on June
10 and the House of Councilors on June 11. Prof. Tanaka received
remuneration from a TEPCO-affiliated organization up to about two years
ago as a director of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. This is in
conflict with the selection standards applied for choosing NRA members
during the Democratic Party administration, but the current
administration has decided not to use those standards.
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Tohoku Electric Power Applies for Review of Compliance of Higashidori NPP with New Standards
On
June 10, in a move towards restarting the Unit 1 reactor of the
Higashidori Nuclear Power Station (BWR, 1,100 MW), Tohoku Electric
Power Co. applied with the Nuclear Regulation Authority for a review
its compliance with the new safety standards. This brings the total to
19 units at 12 nuclear power plants for which applications have been
filed.
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Nuclear Power Subcommittee Inaugurated
The
Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (an advisory body to the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)) has established a
Nuclear Power Subcommittee, which held its first meeting on June 19.
CNIC Co-director Hideyuki Ban has been appointed as a member.
As the regional electric power monopolies erode, it will be more
difficult for those companies to achieve returns on large investments
over the long term. Thus, with the establishment of the revised
Electricity Business Act, supplementary resolutions have been added,
including appropriate measures that have been discussed and crafted on
how to handle nuclear power in a competitive environment, and measures
for creation of a business environment, including assigned roles for
the government and nuclear power companies, toward smooth
implementation of nuclear reactor decommissioning.
Nuclear power proponents have naturally been treating the Nuclear Power
Subcommittee as a venue for pursuing policies to keep nuclear power
alive. In the midst of this, Co-director Ban has announced his
intention of discussing how Japan might proceed toward abolishing
nuclear power. Of the 21 members and five expert advisors (including
nuclear power representatives) and one observer (vice-president of The
Chugoku Electric Power), there are only two other members who
advocate abolishing nuclear power. They will have a big role to play in
winning over opinions among the moderate members and deterring
conspiracies among nuclear power businesses to shirk their
responsibilities.
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Movement for Review of Act on Compensation for Nuclear Damages
The
Senior Vice Minister Review Panel on the Act on Compensation for
Nuclear Damage met for the first time on June 12. Participants included
officials at the vice-ministerial level from MEXT, METI and other
ministries. The panel is currently discussing the necessary legal
framework for Japan’s membership in the CSC (Convention on
Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage), but its biggest focus
is on reviewing Japan’s current law, which forces electric power
companies to assume unlimited liability.
The CSC was created by the IAEA in 1997, but aside from the US, its
membership is limited to three countries, Argentina, Morocco and
Romania, and is therefore unable to fulfill condition precedent. The
declared purpose of this convention is to help victims. Certainly, one
CSC feature is that if large-scale damage from a nuclear accident
exceeds liability limits, it can increase the actual minimum amount of
compensation by drawing from a supplementary fund to which all member
nations contribute.
On the other hand, it does not allow victims outside the country where
the accident occurred to claim compensation for nuclear damage, and it
eliminates the risk to companies exporting equipment and technology of
liability for enormous sums of compensation in their home countries. |
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Sendai NPP passes the new regulatory requirements
At
a meeting of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) on July 16, a
screening report was approved that recognized the Kyushu Electric Power
Company’s Sendai Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2 (PWR, 890 MW each)
as compliant with the new safety standards. Public comments restricted
to scientific and technical opinions are being solicited for the 30-day
period up to August 30.
While the NRA chairperson, Tanaka Shun’ichi, stated that “We have
examined compliance with the standards, but that doesn’t mean I’m
saying they are safe,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that
the government policy that NPPs whose safety has been confirmed will be
restarted is unchanged. The local Aira City council passed an opinion
stating, “We are opposed to the restart of Sendai NPP Units 1 and 2,
and demand the decommissioning of the reactors.” The city council of
Ichiki Kushikino City passed an “Opinion Demanding the Establishment of
an Effective Evacuation Plan to Protect the Lives of Citizens”
addressed to the Governor of Kagoshima Prefecture. Restart of the NPP
requires, among other things, a procedure to obtain the consent of
local residents, and is expected to take place, if it does, sometime in
October, or later, this year.
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