Japan law comes into force to extend nuclear plant lifespans

Japan Times

14 hours ago

A law allowing nuclear reactors to operate beyond 60 years took effect in Japan on Friday, as the government turns back to atomic energy 14 years after the Fukushima catastrophe.
The world's fourth-largest economy is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050 but remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels — partly because many nuclear reactors were taken offline after the meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
The government now plans to increase its reliance on nuclear power, in part to help meet growing energy demand from artificial intelligence and microchip factories.
The 60-year limit was brought in after the 2011 disaster, which was triggered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in off the Tohoku coast.
Under the amended law, nuclear plants' operating period may be extended beyond 60 years to compensate for stoppages caused by "unforeseeable circumstances," the government says.
This means, for example, that one reactor in Fukui Prefecture, suspended for 12 years after the Fukushima crisis, will now be able to operate up until 2047 — 72 years after its debut, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.
But operators require approval from the country's nuclear safety watchdog for the exemption. The law also includes measures intended to strengthen safety checks at aging reactors.
The legal revision is also aimed at helping Japan better cope with power crunches, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked energy market turmoil.
Japan's Strategic Energy Plan had previously vowed to "reduce reliance on nuclear power as much as possible."
But this pledge was dropped from the latest version approved in February, which includes an intention to make renewables the country's top power source by 2040.
Under the plan, nuclear power will account for around 20% of Japan's energy supply by 2040 — up from 5.6% in 2022.
Also in February, Japan pledged to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 60% in the next decade from 2013 levels, a target decried by campaigners as far short of what was needed under the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.
Japan is the world's fifth largest emitter of carbon dioxide after China, the United States, India and Russia.