The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry drafts an action plan to turn decommissioned nuclear power plants into ``next-generation reactors''
Kansai Electric Power's Mihama Nuclear Power Station (Mihama Town, Fukui Prefecture)
The original draft of the action plan compiled by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry regarding the future nuclear policy has been revealed. Based on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's review instructions, it clearly states that "we will proceed with the development and construction of next-generation innovative reactors incorporating new safety mechanisms." The target of rebuilding to next-generation reactors is described as "reactors that have been decided to be decommissioned", and it is included that "we will proceed with specifics based on the progress of back-end problems (such as the disposal of spent nuclear fuel)."
After coordination within the government and the ruling party, we aim to present it at the Nuclear Energy Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy (an advisory body to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry), which will open on the 28th. The government's GX (Green Transformation) Executive Committee is ready to work out the details by the end of the year.
Present a policy for rebuilding nuclear power plants and clarify the future vision for decarbonization and a stable supply of electricity. It is difficult to predict the business prospects of nuclear power plants, which require large initial investment costs. It also announced a policy to promote the establishment of a system and business environment that will lead to stable income.
In Japan, there are nuclear power plants that have not been able to restart due to the lack of consent from local governments. The government will strengthen support for local government employment and the creation of new industries. A "Regional Support Team (provisional name)" will also be created, in which national government officials will support the formulation of evacuation plans and work to gain the understanding of local governments.
He also mentioned that he would create new subsidies for local governments promoting pluthermal power generation, which uses mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, which is a mixture of plutonium and uranium extracted from spent nuclear fuel at nuclear power plants.
