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Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
China resumes Japan seafood imports, but not from Fukushima
Visitors check products sold at the Lalamew seafood market near the Onahama fish port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2023. (AP file photo) BEIJING—China partially lifted its nearly two-year ban on Japanese seafood imports over radiation fears but maintained the restriction for marine products from 10 prefectures, including Fukushima, Chinese customs officials said June 29. Japanese exporters can now send seafood from outside those prefectures to China after completing registration procedures and providing certification confirming both radiation safety and product origin, they said. However, China will continue to reject marine products from 10 prefectures: Fukushima, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano, Saitama, Tokyo and Chiba. China immediately imposed its blanket ban on all Japanese seafood after the Japanese government began releasing treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean in August 2023. The plant site was quickly running out of space to store and treat the contaminated water that has accumulated since the 2011 triple meltdown there. The discharged water was filtered and diluted to remove most radioactive substances. A report from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the water-treatment and discharge project met global safety standards. China, however, rejected the findings. Beijing's ban had a serious economic impact on Japan's fisheries industry. Before the ban, China was Japan's largest seafood export market. In talks between officials from the two countries in September last year, China agreed to ease the restrictions. The two sides discussed the necessary procedural details in May.
3 days ago
- Business
China OKs Imports of Japanese Fishery Products
News from Japan Economy Jun 30, 2025 00:19 (JST) Beijing, June 29 (Jiji Press)--Chinese customs authorities said Sunday that the country will permit the import of Japanese fishery products starting the same day, lifting its blanket ban that has been in place for two years. The ban was introduced in August 2023, when Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. began releasing treated tritium-containing water into the Pacific from its meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima. China's General Administration of Customs, however, said that the import ban will remain in effect for 10 prefectures, including Tokyo and Fukushima, which had been subject to a ban even before the blanket prohibition began. At the end of May this year, the Japanese government announced that it reached an agreement with Beijing on procedures to resume the export of Japanese fishery products to China. The Chinese government also said that it made substantial progress in its discussions with Japan. Both countries were working to finalize import conditions and other details. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Asahi Shimbun
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Monetary aid in reach for more communities near nuke plants
Residents who live near a nuclear power plant are checked for radioactive contamination during a drill in Ishikawa Prefecture in 2023. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) The government and ruling parties plan to increase access to financial assistance for local governments hosting nuclear power plants by broadening the geographical scope of eligibility. Secretaries-general and other officials of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito agreed on June 17 to provide aid to local governments within 30 kilometers of a nuclear plant, instead of the current 10 km or less. Cabinet Office officials also said they are considering revising the special measures law for development of areas around nuclear power generation facilities and other regulations. The change is designed to ensure that local governments can receive increased assistance if they are required to develop evacuation plans for nuclear accidents. 'We need to eliminate the discrepancy and provide support measures for completing evacuation plans,' Makoto Nishida, secretary-general of Komeito, told a news conference after meeting with his LDP counterpart and others on June 17. A case in point may involve Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture, where around 920,000 individuals reside within 30 km from the premises, the highest concentration in the nation. While the central government has required 14 municipalities within the zone to draw up evacuation plans, six are still wrestling with how to safely move so many people. Under the special measures law, which was established in 2000, the central government offers financial assistance that is more generous than standard provisions when local governments hosting nuclear plants build roads and ports or reduce taxes to attract businesses. Local governments within 10 km of a nuclear plant are eligible in accordance with priority zones where it is required to establish countermeasures for potential nuclear accidents. However, following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2011, these priority zones were expanded from a range of 10 km or less from a nuclear plant to within 30 km. As a result, some host governments have called for expanding the areas where greater assistance is provided, saying that the burden of taking countermeasures for nuclear accidents has only grown. The government has shifted its policy to making maximum use of nuclear power. Officials apparently hope that the change will make it easier to win local consent on restarting nuclear plants and other nuclear-related policies. (This article was written by Satoshi Shinden and Anri Takahashi.)
Asahi Shimbun
11-06-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
TEPCO begins loading fuel into second Niigata nuclear reactor
From left: The No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. began loading a second reactor with fuel at its nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, which may become its first reactor to be reactivated after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. The work started at the No. 6 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant around 1 p.m. on June 10 following the Nuclear Regulation Authority's approval at 11 a.m. the same day. It will take about two weeks to complete loading 872 fuel assemblies. When the necessary inspections are cleared, the reactor can be restarted anytime, at least technically. However, it remains unclear whether the utility can obtain consent from the local communities. 'To win the trust of the host communities, it is important to show that we are safely making technical preparations,' TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa said of the fuel loading at a news conference in May. TEPCO has sought to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant to rebuild its operations following a triple meltdown at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The company estimates that it can boost its annual earnings by 100 billion yen ($691 million) if a reactor is brought back online because fuel costs for thermal power plants will decline. The seven-reactor Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which has been shut down since the 2011 accident, is TECPO's only nuclear power plant as it decided to decommission the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants. The utility has aimed to first reactivate the No. 7 reactor, the newest of the seven, as early as this summer. It was loaded with fuel in April last year. However, Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi has not disclosed whether he will support the restart, saying he needs to hear the opinions of prefectural residents, including mayors of municipalities. In addition, TEPCO in February postponed the completion date of an anti-terrorism facility for the reactor, a requirement for its restart, until August 2029—long past the NRA deadline of October. An anti-terrorism facility for the No. 6 reactor has not been completed, either. But TEPCO can provisionally operate the reactor until September 2029, the NRA deadline for its anti-terrorism facility, if it gains consent from the local communities. 'There is a high likelihood that the No. 6 reactor will be brought back online first,' an industry ministry official said. It now appears that TEPCO will seek to restart the No. 6 reactor after gaining consent from the local communities and reactivate the No. 7 reactor once its anti-terrorism facility is built in August 2029. The No. 6 reactor would be shut down in September that year but could be restarted again if the utility completes its anti-terrorism facility in September 2031 in accordance with its revised schedule. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which straddles Kashiwazaki city and Kariwa village, is one of the world's largest nuclear power plants with a total power generating capacity of 8.21 million kilowatts. The No. 6 and No. 7 reactors started commercial operations in November 1996 and July 1997, respectively. Both are advanced boiling water reactors, each capable of generating 1.35 million kilowatts. The remaining five reactors, which started commercial operations between 1985 and 1994, are all conventional boiling water reactors capable of generating 1.1 million kilowatts individually.
Asahi Shimbun
04-06-2025
- General
- Asahi Shimbun
EDITORIAL: Social agreement needed for disposing of Fukushima soil
The interim storage facility in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, for soil collected in the decontamination work around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in the background (Asahi Shimbun file photo) The government has decided on a basic policy direction for the huge volume of contaminated soil resulting from the 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Co. The two main measures are to recycle some of it and to eventually dispose of all the soil outside of Fukushima Prefecture. However, no course for those measures has been laid down because of difficulties in finding a location to serve as a final disposal site. This is a grave issue that society as a whole must squarely face. Soil removed during decontamination work within Fukushima Prefecture has been accumulating at an interim storage facility near the nuclear plant so as not to interfere with reconstruction efforts in the prefecture. The equivalent volume of 11 Tokyo Domes has been collected. In order to obtain local understanding, the government has proposed moving that soil outside of Fukushima for final disposal by 2045. The Fukushima governor accepted that proposal, but said it was an 'agonizing decision.' Many blocs in the Diet supported a legal revision that clearly stated it was the central government's responsibility to dispose of the soil outside of Fukushima. There is major significance to the promise made to disaster-stricken areas that were forced to shoulder serious environmental pollution and the bitterness of losing one's hometown. Because there were doubts about whether that goal could be realized, it is also a fact that politicians made a decision before thorough discussion was conducted. With only 20 years before the deadline for final disposal, the most pressing issue will be recycling the soil so the volume for final disposal is reduced. The plan is to use about three-fourths of the total volume with radiation concentration levels under 8,000 becquerels per kilogram of soil in public works projects in various parts of Japan. In the recently decided basic policy, one measure included was using the soil in shrubbery planted within the grounds of the prime minister's office as a sign the central government was taking the lead in the matter. To ensure sufficient safety, the government has said the radiation exposure of workers handling the soil would be kept under international standards and that measures would be taken to prevent the soil from becoming airborne or spilling out from the work site. But understanding will not deepen if only scientific safety is emphasized. The Environment Ministry's plan for experimental use of the soil in the Tokyo metropolitan area never got off the ground because of opposition from local residents. When the government recently sought out views about the recycling soil standard, many concerns and doubts were submitted. There was a sharp difference of opinion regarding the radiation risk from the nuclear plant accident in relation to farm products and the release of treated water into the ocean. Rather than imposing its views, the government has the responsibility of making every effort to achieve social agreement by removing concerns through civil dialogue with local governments and citizens. Now is also the time to enter into serious discussions about final disposal that will come after recycling. There are many issues to discuss, such as the cost and burden, including recycling of the soil, and what plans the government has for the areas around the nuclear plant once final disposal is completed. The handling of the removed soil is an especially difficult matter for the processing of the nuclear accident. According to an Environment Ministry study, only one in four respondents outside of Fukushima Prefecture know about the policy of final disposal outside of that prefecture. That is much lower than the slightly more than half of the Fukushima Prefecture respondents who are aware of that policy. The accident of 14 years ago occurred while Japanese society continued to use nuclear power under a 'safety myth.' The electricity generated at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was mainly used in the Tokyo metropolitan area. There is a need for deep and careful consideration about how to achieve a resolution to the issue by having the entire nation tackle the task of dealing with the aftereffects. --The Asahi Shimbun, June 4
