Fukushima News 1/5/15: Japan Bracing For Reactor Restart-Boiling Water Reactors May Go Back Online

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• published: 06 Jan 2015
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NRA bracing itself for possible reactor restarts Nuclear & Energy Jan. 4, 2015 - Updated 23:14 UTC-5 The head of Japan's nuclear watchdog has asked its employees to work with greater responsibility this year. He said the task of regulatory authorities will take on greater importance if and when the country's reactors start going back online. Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka gave a New Year's address on Monday before 460 employees of the NRA's secretariat. Tanaka said if reactors are restarted, regulatory authorities will be required to carry out new kinds of work, such as inspections on the nuclear facilities. He said NRA officials must carry out their work with a greater focus than last year. All of Japan's reactors are currently offline. Utilities must pass new government regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima accident. They were set up as a precondition to restart their nuclear reactors. The NRA is currently screening applications filed by utilities for 21 reactors at 14 plants. In September, reactors at the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima, southern Japan, became the first ones to clear the new regulations. The Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui, on the Sea of Japan coast, is expected to have its safety measures approved by the end of this month at the earliest. This year a number of pressurized water reactors may pass inspections and go back online. Screenings of boiling water reactors, the same type as the reactors that suffered meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, will also get underway. Abe to issue statement 70 years after end of WWII Japan Jan. 5, 2015 - Updated 05:09 UTC-5 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has indicated that he will issue a new statement this year to mark 70 years since the end of World War Two. He plans to convey that Japan is willing to contribute more actively to world peace. Abe said at a news conference on Monday that Japan will continue to be a pacifist nation. He pledged to protect the lives and wellbeing of the country's people. He also expressed determination to create new security legislation to enable the nation to exercise the right to collective self-defense. Regarding historical issues, Abe said his government has and will continue to inherit the stance of past cabinets, including the Murayama statement. The 1995 statement issued by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama expressed deep remorse and heartfelt apology for Japan's wartime aggression in Asia. Abe added he must fulfill a mandate given by the voters in the general election last month. He renewed his pledge to carry out unprecedented reforms to revive the Japanese economy. He called for reconstruction following the 2011 disaster, education and social security reforms, reviews of foreign and security policy, reviving regional communities and allowing women to play greater roles in society. Japanese FM wants to attend NPT review conference World Jan. 4, 2015 - Updated 15:51 UTC-5 Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida says he wants to attend an international conference set for this spring to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT. NPT member nations hold review meetings every 5 years. This year's gathering will take place from April to May in New York. Delegates will study whether member nations are properly carrying out their obligations under the treaty. They will also decide how NPT countries will work to achieve nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. In an interview with NHK, Kishida said that leading the debate on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation is a crucial mission for Japan, the only nation to be attacked with atomic bombs. He said he has particularly strong feelings on the issue as a foreign minister who is from Hiroshima. Reconstruction minister:govt. to step up efforts Japan Jan. 5, 2015 - Updated 00:00 UTC-5 Reconstruction Minister Wataru Takeshita says the government will accelerate the rebuilding of areas in northeastern Japan hit by the massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The government had earlier designated the initial 5 years from the disaster as an intensive reconstruction period. The period comes to a close at the end of fiscal 2015, or March next year. In a speech on Monday Takeshita told officials of the reconstruction agency that they should remind themselves that many evacuees are spending their 4th winter in temporary housing. http://www.epa.gov/radnet/radnet-data/ Nuclear too dangerous, costly to be considered a serious option http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/nuclear-too-dangerous-costly-to-be-considered-a-serious-option/article_69c1e2f8-92bc-11e4-824f-1ff18ddf44b1.html nuclear-news The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry http://nuclear-news.net/ ITER AND CERN. STAR MAKER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhSu2_08n9s