Science & Technology News from Japan - International Relations

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Confédération suisse Confederazione Svizzera Confederaziun svizra Embassy of Switzerland in Japan State Secretariat for Education and Research SER Prefectural Government Considers Radioactive Waste Site (March 17, 2009) A mayor in Fukushima Prefecture is considering allowing his town to host a disposal site for highly radioactive waste. The central government has been accepting applications from local governments willing to host waste sites since 2002. In 2007, Toyocho offered to host such a project but withdrew its application in 2007 following a campaign against the project. The government has not so far found any local government willing to accept a site. Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant's No. 1 and No. 2 reactors operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., fall within Narahamachi's jurisdiction. Nuclear Reactor Operation Subject To Court Decisions (March 18, 2009) The Nagoya High Court overturned a lower court's ruling which ordered an electric power company to shut down the country's second-largest nuclear reactor in Ishikawa Prefecture due to the reactor's lack of resistance to major earthquakes. The high court branch in Kanazawa in the prefecture rejected the argument of the plaintiffs residents, living in the vicinity of the reactor and others, that they could be exposed to radiation in the event of an accident triggered by a major earthquake as the reactor's quake resistance is not enough. The plaintiffs will appeal to the Supreme Court. Advanced Boiling Water Reactors For Texas (March 19, 2009) Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corporation had signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreement with South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Co. for the construction of two advanced boiling water reactor nuclear power plants in STP Units 3 and 4 in Texas. Change To Digital Control At Existing Nuclear Power Plant (March 19, 2008) Shikoku Electric Power Co. has launched work to convert the current analog main control boards and reactor control systems used at its Ikata-1 and -2 NPSs to the latest digital systems.This will be the first time that the controls at an existing nuclear power plant in Japan have been comprehensively modified to be digital. The conversion is expected to be finished by mid-July, and will cost approximately JPY20 billion. Mixed Uranium-Plutonium Oxide Fuel Left France For Japan (March 19, 2008) Two transport ships carrying mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel that was made in the Melox Plant operated by the French company AREVA, and commissioned by three Japanese electric power utilities - Chubu Electric Power Co., Shikoku Electric Power Co., and Kyushu Electric Power Co. - left the port of Cherbourg in France on March 5 for Japan. Member In U.S. Nuclear Plant Designer Category (March 19, 2008) Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems, Inc. (MNES), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. in the United States, was recently qualified by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) of the United States as a member in the nuclear plant designer category. This is the first time that a Japanese company operating has received such a qualification as a business on its own merits. Agreement To Use MOX Fuel In Hokkaido (March 19, 2008) Governor Harumi Takahashi of Hokkaido conveyed her preliminary agreement to the program proposed by the Hokkaido Electric Power Co. to use mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel at its Tomari-3 NPS. Agreement To Start MOX Reactor Project (March 21, 2009) Matsue will let Chugoku Electric Power Co. start a plutonium-thermal power generation project involving the use of uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuel at its nuclear plant there. The central government agreed last October to let Chugoku Electric carry out the MOX fuel power generation scheme at the Shimane nuclear power plant's No. 2 reactor, an 820,000-kW boiling water reactor, in Matsue by the end of fiscal 2010. The local municipality and the prefectural government urged the utility to ensure the quake resistance of the plant because it sits close to an active fault line. Nuclear Plants Stagnant At 60% Efficiency (March 25, 2009) Facility utilization rates were stagnant at about 60% at the nation's nuclear plants in fiscal 2007, the Japan Atomic Energy Commission said in an annual white paper. Nuclear energy has failed to live up to society's expectations Science & Technology News from Japan, Template 2009 • Felix Moesner, Science & Technology Attaché Page 24 of 28
Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Confédération suisse Confederazione Svizzera Confederaziun svizra Embassy of Switzerland in Japan State Secretariat for Education and Research SER citing the suspension of the trial operation of a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho. But utilization rates at Japan's atomic plants stood at only 60.7% in fiscal 2007. The paper also proposes reorganizing the structure of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and strengthening its technological foundation for an early resumption of the Monju prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactor. Proposals For Nuclear Energy Policy Framework (March 25, 2009) The Advisory Committee on the Evaluation of Framework for Nuclear Energy Policy, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) of Japan, issued a draft evaluation of activities related to nuclear energy utilization. Recognizing progress in efforts to promote nuclear generation and the nuclear fuel cycle, based on the Framework for Nuclear Energy Policy, the Advisory Committee made a proposal consisting of nine items. Assessments On Nuclear Power Generation Effects (March 25, 2009) At a meeting of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan the secretariat of the Commission reported on the justfinished 10th Coordinators Meeting of the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA). It had been decided at the forum meeting that countries interested in introducing nuclear power generation would conduct quantitative assessments (in the form of case studies) of economic effects, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in order to support the inclusion of nuclear generation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) at COP15 and onward. Seven countries have offered to carry out the research. World’s First Data-Collecting Accelerator Driven System (March 25, 2009) The world's first experiment using an Accelerator Driven System (ADS) was begun at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI), utilizing the Kyoto University Critical Assembly. The experiment was conducted as the final step in ADS-related technological development using the Fixed Field Alternating Gradient accelerator complex at KURRI. The research project was selected as an innovative project to develop nuclear-energy system technology by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. No Decision On Next IAEA Director (March 27, 2009) Both Yukiya Amano of Japan and Abdul Samad Minty of South Africa failed in an election to pick the next chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to sources. The IAEA held a session to hold a fourth vote to select the successor to IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. Voting was carried over from the previous day after neither of the two candidates won the required two-thirds majority. Amano led in three rounds of voting by the IAEA's 35-nation governing board in Vienna but could not secure a two-thirds majority. ElBaradei's third four-year term as IAEA chief will expire in November. Approval To Restart Nuclear Reactor (March 28, 2009) Hokuriku Electric Power Co. got government approval to restart a nuclear reactor in Ishikawa Prefecture two years after it was ordered to shut the unit for covering up safety breaches. The government ordered the closure of the 540MW Shika No. 1 reactor in 2007 after learning the utility, with more than 2 million customers, didn't disclose a "critical accident" in 1999. The cover up came to light when the government's nuclear safety agency demanded that utilities reveal any unreported breaches to allay public concerns as Japan, already the world's third-biggest nuclear generator, sought to build more reactors. White Paper On Nuclear Energy (March 31, 2009) The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) of Japan has presented a "White Paper on Nuclear Energy 2008," to a Cabinet meeting. The White Paper outlines how many countries are expanding their use of nuclear power. Worldwide, more countries have come to agree with the idea that nuclear energy can be effective in combating climate change, according to the AEC. It goes on to describe Japan’s current nuclear activities, including the use of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The AEC also calls for the promotion of nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle, reinforcing basic/fundamental efforts in Japan. New Presidents With Power System Background (March 31, 2009) Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. have both appointed new presidents to lead their organizations. Norio Sasaki is to become the new president of Toshiba. He has held various posts in the company, including general manager of the Science & Technology News from Japan, Template 2009 • Felix Moesner, Science & Technology Attaché Page 25 of 28
Page 1 and 2: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Co
Page 23: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Co

Science & Technology News from Japan - International Relations

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?