CONSULTING

in regulatory safety inspections reports. 576 During 2003, TEPCO managed to resume operations
of five of its reactors. The further noticeable decline in electrical output in 2007 was the result of
the extended shutdown of the seven Kashiwazaki Kariwa reactors, with a total installed capacity
of 8 GWe, following the Niigata Chuetsu-oki earthquake in 2007. 577 TEPCO was struggling to
restart the Kashiwazaki Kariwa units, when the Fukushima earthquake occurred.
The Fukushima-Daiichi accident, which began on 11 March 2011 (see Fukushima Status Report),
led to the shutdown of all 50 nuclear reactors in addition to the destruction of four of the six units
at the Fukushima-Daiichi site. Five years on, the consequences of the accident continue to define
the future prospects for nuclear energy in Japan. The number of reactors theoretically available
to resume operation declined further with five reactors declared for permanent closure in
March 2015 578 and the confirmation of the permanent closure of the 39-year-old Ikata-1 reactor
on 25 March 2016. 579 WNISR considers the day of the last electricity generation as the closure
date and accordingly modifies the statistics retroactively.
Table 15: Japanese Reactors Officially Closed
Owner Unit Capacity Grid Connection Last Production Age 580
Kansai Electric
PWR Mihama Unit 1 340 MW 1970 2010 40 years
PWR Mihama Unit 2 500 MW 1972 2011 40 years
Kyushu Electric PWR Genkai Unit 1 559 MW 1975 2011 37 years
Shikoku PWR Ikata Unit 1 538 MW 1977 2011 35 years
JAPC BWR Tsuruga Unit 1 357 MW 1969 2011 41 years
Chugoku Electric PWR Shimane Unit 1 460 MW 1974 2010 37 years
Sources: IAEA-PRIS, MSC, 2016
While the nuclear industry has failed to resume operation of nuclear power plants, a consistent
majority of Japanese citizens, when polled, continue to oppose the continued reliance on nuclear
576 Hiroyuki Kuroda, “Lesson Learned from TEPCO Nuclear Power Scandal”, Manager Corporate,
Communications Department, TEPCO, 24 March 2004, see http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/presen/pdf-
1/040325-s-e.pdf, accessed 17 June 2016.
577 TEPCO, “Impact of the Niigata Chuetsu-oki earthquake on the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)
Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Station and Countermeasures”, September 2007,
see www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/presen/pdf-1/0709-e.pdf, accessed 2 July 2016.
578 WNISR, “Japanese Utilities Confirm Closure of Five Reactors”, 21 March 2015, see
http://www.worldnuclearreport.org/Japanese-Utilities-Confirm-Closure.html, accessed 2 July 2016.
579 WNISR, “Permanent Closure of Japanese Reactor Ikata-1”, 26 March 2016, see
http://www.worldnuclearreport.org/Permanent-Closure-of-Japanese-Reactor-Ikata-1.html, accessed
2 July 2016.
580 Note that WNISR considers the age from first grid connection to last production.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 150 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016