
Kansai Electric to start surveys for new nuclear power reactor in Mihama
The decision marks Japan's first concrete step towards building a new nuclear reactor since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 triggered a meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power's <9501.T> Fukushima plant, leading it to be shut down.
Japan remains heavily dependent on fossil fuel imports, and the government wants nuclear power to contribute more to the country's energy security. Kansai Electric is currently Japan's biggest nuclear operator based on the number of reactors online.
The surveys would focus on topography, geology and other studies and would include communications with local residents, the company said.
"Given overall cost performance, plant operation, and compliance with new regulations, we consider the SRZ-1200 advanced light water reactor the most realistic option," Hiroaki Kitaura, a chief manager of Kansai's nuclear power division, told a briefing.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T), opens new tab is working with four utilities, including Kansai Electric and Hokkaido Electric Power (9509.T), opens new tab, on the basic design of the reactor type.
Kansai Electric provided no construction cost estimate, but Kitaura said funds will be raised through bonds, loans, and other means as appropriate, adding that no equity issuance was currently being planned.
The company had been analysing a successor to the Mihama No.1 reactor since November 2010, but suspended the study after the 2011 disaster. In 2015, it decided to decommission the No.1 and No.2 reactors at Mihama.
"With a significant loss of nuclear power supply expected, it is necessary to rebuild with next-generation reactors, based on the premise of ensuring safety and gaining local understanding, to secure decarbonised power sources," Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto said on Tuesday.
Japan currently operates over a dozen reactors, with a combined capacity of around 12 gigawatts. Many are undergoing relicencing to meet stricter safety standards implemented after the Fukushima disaster. Before 2011, Japan operated 54 reactors.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
UK and Australia sign Aukus treaty to build nuclear submarines as Lammy downplays US doubts
Australia and the UK have signed a 50-year treaty to cement the Aukus pact to design and build a new class of nuclear-powered submarine. Australia's defence minister, Richard Marles, and the UK's defence secretary, John Healey, signed the deal – dubbed the 'Geelong Treaty' – in Geelong on Saturday, with Marles saying it was among the most significant treaties between the two nations. It came as the US, which is not a party to the treaty, wavers on its own role in the trilateral Aukus agreement, after the Trump administration launched a review to examine whether it aligns with his 'America first' agenda. A joint statement released by the UK and Australia said the treaty would enable cooperation on the SSN-Aukus submarine's design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal, as well as workforce, infrastructure and regulatory systems. The SSN-Aukus is intended to incorporate technology from all three Aukus nations. It will be built in northern England for the UK Royal Navy, and Australia plans to build its own in South Australia for delivery to the Australian navy in the 2040s. The treaty is yet to be released publicly and will be tabled in parliament next week. Marles told reporters the treaty will underpin how the UK and Australia work together to deliver the submarines. He said there were three parts to the treaty, including training in the UK for Australian submariners and other required roles, and 'facilitating the development' of infrastructure at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide. 'And finally, what the treaty does is create a seamless defence industrial base between the United Kingdom and Australia. This project is going to see Australian companies supplying into Great Britain for the building of submarines,' he said. 'It will see British companies supplying to Australia for the building of our own submarines here in Adelaide. Healey said the treaty would support tens of thousands of jobs in both Australia and the UK. 'It is a treaty that will fortify the Indo-Pacific. It will strengthen Nato and we're the politicians signing it today. But this is a treaty that will define the relationship between our two nations and safeguard the security of our country for our children and our children's children to come,' he said. Marles said the deal was 'another demonstration of the fact that Aukus is happening, and it is happening on time, and we are delivering it'. 'It's a treaty which will last for 50 years. It is a bilateral treaty which sits under the trilateral Aukus framework.' As part of the existing Aukus agreement, Australia will pay about $4.6bn to support British industry to design and produce nuclear reactors to power the future Aukus-class submarines. It will pay a similar amount to the US to support America's shipbuilding industry. Under the $368bn Aukus program, Australia is scheduled to buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US from the early 2030s. Earlier on Saturday, the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, appeared at an event in Sydney run by the Lowy Institute. Asked by the presenter if the UK was 'coming to the rescue because America is losing interest in Aukus', he said that wasn't the case, and that the deal was about '20,000 jobs between our two countries' and a secure partnership well into the future. Lammy dismissed concerns over the Trump administration's Aukus review, saying it would 'flush out any issues for them'. He said both the UK and Australian governments had also undertaken a review of the pact. 'All governments do reviews, and should do reviews, particularly when they involve big aspects of procurement and defence,' he said. Lammy said the world had entered a 'new era' of instability and that 'investing in defence is an investment in peace' because opponents 'realise that you are armed and capable'. The Trump administration's review is being headed by the Pentagon's undersecretary of defence policy, Elbridge Colby, who has previously declared himself 'sceptical' about the deal, fearing it could leave US sailors exposed and underresourced.


Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
SYDNEY, July 26 (Reuters) - Australia's government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced a formal review of the pact this year. Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines," the statement said. The treaty was a "commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I", it said, adding that it built on the "strong foundation" of trilateral AUKUS cooperation. Britain's ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies' submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. production base. Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the U.S. in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia's largest war games. As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year.


The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘Terrible fuel efficiency, no right-hand drive': why trade deal won't warm up Japan to American cars
Donald Trump has declared that Japan is opening up its domestic market to US cars as part of the bilateral trade deal announced this week. But American manufacturers will find it no easy task convincing Japanese drivers to choose what they see as oversized, unreliable gas-guzzlers. Announcing the agreement – which includes 15% tariffs on imports from Japan, including cars – Trump posted: 'Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their country to trade including cars and trucks, rice and certain other agricultural products.' Earlier this month, the US president had complained: 'We didn't give them one car in 10 years – they send out millions but they won't take any of ours.' The US claims Japan uses non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to keep out American cars. Japan imported 16,707 American vehicles in 2024, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA). European brands, led by Mercedes-Benz and other German automakers, sold more than 250,000 into the same market, which overall is dominated by Japan's huge domestic auto industry. 'We don't receive any requests from our member companies to address non-tariff barrier issues,' said the JAIA's Sho Matsumoto. Takeshi Miyao, head of the Carnorama auto consultancy's Tokyo office, also says no such hurdles exist for US imports. 'There are non-tariff barriers on rice [another sticking point in the trade negotiations], because the government feels it has to protect Japanese farmers, but not on vehicles,' he says. US manufacturers like GM and Ford simply don't focus on the Japanese market, according to Miyao. 'They don't really do any marketing, and often don't even offer right-hand drive models. So the cars don't sell.' Size is also a problem, Miyao notes. The Ford F-150 pickup is around six metres long and 2 metres high. That kind of vehicular behemoth is particularly ill suited to Japan's narrow roads and tight parking spaces. US cars also have longstanding image problems, says Takahisa Matsuyama, an instructor for chauffeurs and private hire drivers in Tokyo. 'Going back to the days when we first came across US cars like Cadillacs, they're seen as having terrible fuel efficiency and breaking down easily; that impression hasn't changed much,' says Matsuyama. The 2025 car reliability rankings from Consumer Reports, a US non-profit organisation, bear this sentiment out. The top four marques were Subaru, Lexus, Toyota and Honda – all Japanese. The bottom four – Jeep, GMC, Cadillac and Rivian – were all American. Matsuyama points out that the biggest sellers in Japan have long been kei cars. Short for kei-jidosha (light vehicle), these compact cars and trucks are only allowed a tiny 660cc engine, and have topped sales rankings for decades – even as the government has gradually eroded the tax and insurance advantages they receive over regular vehicles. The automotive antithesis of the giant pickup, the kei truck has actually gained a cult fanbase in the US, mostly through private imports. Japan's automakers will now face 15% tariffs on their exports to the US, up from 2.5% and the highest levy in decades. But investors have welcomed the figure as much less than the originally threatened 25% hike, to a total of 27.5%. The news sent the Nikkei 225 index up more than 4% this week, and shares in Japan's biggest carmakers surged even higher – Toyota, Honda and Nissan all gaining more than 10%. One of Trump's perennial complaints in his trade and tariff war has been that other companies 'rip off' the US by selling it more than they buy from it. In that vein, as part of the bilateral negotiations, Tokyo has agreed to encourage Japanese auto brands that also build cars in US factories to import some of them into Japan. That may at least put some US-built vehicles into the showrooms of Japan that motorists might actually buy.