Latest news with #TokyoElectricPowerCompanyHoldingsInc
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan extends life of nuclear reactors beyond 60 years
A law enabling nuclear reactors in Japan to operate beyond 60 years took effect Friday, scrapping a limit imposed after the Fukushima crisis, with the government viewing the power source as vital to the country's energy mix. Under the new system, the life of a reactor will, in principle, be extended beyond 60 years by no longer including offline periods for safety reviews or suspensions ordered by courts that are not due to the inappropriate actions of an operator. The law replaces rules allowing the operation of reactors for up to 40 years, with extensions up to 60 years possible if approved by regulators. The rules were introduced in 2013 following the Fukushima nuclear disaster that was triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The legislation was enacted in 2023 after the government led by then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shifted from the previous policy of reducing reliance on nuclear power, saying in 2022 that the country will fully utilize nuclear plants to cut carbon dioxide emissions and realize a stable energy supply amid Russia's war in Ukraine. The No. 1 reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co's Takahama nuclear plant, the country's oldest unit that began operating in November 1974, could be granted permission to continue for 72 years as it was offline for about 12 years due to a safety assessment by the Nuclear Regulation Authority and other reasons. The offline periods to be exempted from total service life do not include suspensions due to inappropriate actions by operators, such as when Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc was slapped with an effective ban on operating the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture for insufficient antiterrorism measures. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will assess the extension periods of nuclear reactors beyond 60 years. The law also stipulates that operators of nuclear plants that have been running for 30 years or more must compile long-term plans for facility management at least every 10 years and obtain approval from the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The regulator will assess the soundness of nuclear reactors and the concrete used in such facilities as well as the feasibility of operators' plans to address parts shortages. © KYODO
3 days ago
- Business
High Court Overturns Ruling against Ex-TEPCO Executives
News from Japan Society Jun 6, 2025 11:38 (JST) Tokyo, June 6 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo High Court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that ordered four former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to pay a total of 13,321 billion yen in damages over the March 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture. In their lawsuit, TEPCO shareholders had demanded that five former executives pay some 23 trillion yen in damages to the company over the triple reactor meltdown at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Kyodo News
3 days ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Court rejects Fukushima crisis damages order against ex-TEPCO execs
KYODO NEWS - 20 minutes ago - 11:23 | All, Japan A Japanese high court on Friday overturned a ruling ordering former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to pay the utility damages for failing to prevent the 2011 crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The decision by the Tokyo High Court came after a district court ordered the former executives in July 2022 to pay around 13 trillion yen ($90 billion) in compensation. Both the defendants and shareholders seeking the damages had appealed the ruling. The district court found the four former executives liable for compensation after the combined impact of a massive earthquake and tsunami on the plant in northeastern Japan in March 2011 caused one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. The focal point of the appeal trial was whether the management's decisions on tsunami countermeasures were appropriate after a TEPCO unit estimated in 2008 that a tsunami of up to 15.7 meters could hit the plant based on the government's long-term earthquake assessment made public in 2002. The district court found the late former Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, former President Masataka Shimizu, and former Vice Presidents Sakae Muto and Ichiro Takekuro liable for damages. Katsumata's lawsuit was taken over by his heir. The acquittals of Takekuro and Muto in a criminal suit were finalized in March. Charges against Katsumata were dismissed after his death last October. Related coverage: 2nd melted fuel sample retrieved from crippled Fukushima reactor 1st dismantling of nuclear reactor begins in central Japan Japan court denies request to revoke extension of aging nuclear units
The Mainichi
3 days ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Court rejects Fukushima crisis damages order against ex-TEPCO execs
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Japanese high court on Friday overturned a ruling ordering former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to pay the utility damages for failing to prevent the 2011 crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The decision by the Tokyo High Court came after a district court ordered the former executives in July 2022 to pay around 13 trillion yen ($90 billion) in compensation. Both the defendants and shareholders seeking the damages had appealed the ruling. The district court found the four former executives liable for compensation after the combined impact of a massive earthquake and tsunami on the plant in northeastern Japan in March 2011 caused one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. The focal point of the appeal trial was whether the management's decisions on tsunami countermeasures were appropriate after a TEPCO unit estimated in 2008 that a tsunami of up to 15.7 meters could hit the plant based on the government's long-term earthquake assessment made public in 2002. The district court found the late former Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, former President Masataka Shimizu, and former Vice Presidents Sakae Muto and Ichiro Takekuro liable for damages. Katsumata's lawsuit was taken over by his heir. The acquittals of Takekuro and Muto in a criminal suit were finalized in March. Charges against Katsumata were dismissed after his death last October.
23-04-2025
- Science
Fuel Debris Collected Again at Fukushima N-Plant
News from Japan Apr 23, 2025 13:57 (JST) Tokyo, April 23 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Wednesday that it has successfully collected a sample of nuclear fuel debris from a damaged reactor in Fukushima Prefecture in the second round of its experimental removal work. The sample collected from the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was put into a container for transport, the Japanese power supplier said. TEPCO said that it was able to take out the sample from a spot that is closer to the center of the reactor containment vessel, compared with the first round of its experimental removal work completed in November last year. The sample will be analyzed at a research lab of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, for research toward full-scale removal of nuclear fuel debris, part of the process for decommissioning the nuclear plant crippled in a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The second round of the experimental debris removal work started on April 15. A telescopic device was put inside of the reactor, and a claw gripper on the edge of the device grabbed debris on Thursday. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
