Japan Press Weekly

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2014 December 17 - 23 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

J-Power asks for NRA’s approval for uncompleted Oma nuclear power plant

Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-Power) on December 16 filed an application to the Nuclear Regulation Authority for a safety assessment of the Oma Nuclear Power Plant which is under construction in Aomori Prefecture, with the aim to start operations at the facility in 2021.

The Oma plant will be the world’s first nuclear power plant using only MOX fuel, which is a mixture of uranium and plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel. However, experts warn that MOX fuel reduces stability in reactors compared with conventional fuel.

Construction work on the Oma plant which began in 2008 was suspended after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown accident and restarted in October 2012 in defiance of opposition from local residents. In April this year, Hokkaido’s Hakodate City, which is located across the Tsugaru Strait from the Oma plant, filed a lawsuit against the state and J-Power with the Tokyo District Court, demanding a halt to the construction work of the nuclear facility.

J-Power Executive Managing Director Junji Nagashima after submitting the application to the NRA said to the press, “We hope to contribute to the promotion of the nuclear fuel recycling program.” J-Power’s move obviously falls in line with the Abe government’s basic energy plan seeking to move ahead with the nuclear fuel cycle.

Japanese Communist Party member of the Aomori Prefectural Assembly Suwa Masuichi criticized the power company for ignoring the fact that humans cannot safely coexist with nuclear power plants, the most important lesson learned from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Hakodate City in its comment criticized J-Power for ignoring its accountability to the local residents regarding the power plant. The city showed its determination to achieve suspension of the construction through its court battle.