Japan is pushing to revise the law to increase the deadline for nuclear power plant operation, which is “up to 60 years.”
The Japanese government has begun reviewing the revision of the law to allow the life of nuclear power plants, which it has decided to allow for up to 60 years, citing a stable supply of electricity.
The Asahi Shimbun reported on the 6th that the Japanese government is considering revising the Electricity Business Act and the Framework Act on Nuclear Energy, which set the operation period of nuclear power plants.
The key point is to extend the operation period of nuclear power plants, which are 40 years in principle and can be extended by 20 years only once.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it has decided to allow the removal of the “principle of 40 years, up to 60 years” rule from the reactor and other regulatory laws.
Shinsuke Yamanaga, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Committee, held a press conference the previous day and said, “It is scientifically and technically impossible to determine the upper limit of the nuclear power plant operation period uniformly.”
However, the regulatory committee conveyed its opinion to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is in charge of the project, that “it does not guarantee that it is safe to operate nuclear power plants for more than 60 years.”
In Japan, the period of operation of nuclear power plants was introduced in 2013 following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear accident. Previously, there was no upper limit on the operation period of the nuclear power plant.
As Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered his ministries to consider expanding new next-generation reactors on August 24, the Japanese government rolled up its sleeves to build and expand nuclear power plants due to power shortages caused by the Ukrainian war, and the extension of the operation period of nuclear power plants also emerged as an issue.
Private companies are passive in building and expanding nuclear power plants due to profitability. There is also a problem that it takes a long time even if it is newly built or expanded.
In addition, there are many old nuclear power plants in Japan that have been operated for more than 30 years, which is the upper limit of the operation period. This is why attention is being paid to extending the use of existing nuclear power plants rather than new or expanded ones.
There are two ways to extend the operation period of nuclear power plants. One way is to receive judgment from the regulatory committee for each individual nuclear power plant depending on the condition of the facility without establishing a collective upper limit.
The other is to extend the life span by not adding up to 40 years of the basic life span of the nuclear power plant under the current law. The basic law on nuclear power is expected to include decarbonization for the purpose of operating nuclear power plants.
However, Asahi Shimbun reported that there are deep-rooted concerns about operating nuclear power plants in Japan for more than 40 years, and that there are many criticisms about extending the operation period. 부산출장마사지
Citizens’ opposition is expected to be formidable in the process of increasing the actual deadline.