NEWSWORTHY
Low-level radioactive waste stored at Tokai research facility near Tokyo may leak, agency says
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that some of the low-level radioactive waste stored underground at a facility near Tokyo may leak from its containers due to inadequate disposal procedures. The government-backed agency keeps 53,000 drums of low-level radioactive waste, or about 10,600 kiloliters, ...
Live updates from The Japan Times newsroom and social media about Typhoon Jebi — the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years — as it wreaks havoc on the archipelago.
Typhoon Jebi, most powerful to hit Japan in 25 years, leaves trail of destruction in Kansai region
The storm disrupted transportation networks, heavily damaged the bridge that leads to Kansai International Airport and knocked out power to over a million homes.
Removal of spent fuel from Fukui's defunct Fugen reactor delayed by nine years
The transfer of spent nuclear fuel from the Fugen converter reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, will be postponed for nine years until a new reprocessing facility can be chosen, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency said Monday. JAEA President Toshio Kodama announced the delay until fiscal ...
Closure of Tokai Reprocessing Plant to cost an estimated ¥800 billion: JAEA source
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency reveals that the scrapping of the Tokai Reprocessing Plant, the nation’s first facility for reusing spent nuclear fuel, is expected to cost ¥800 billion and take 70 years to complete.
The popularity of nishikigoi carp is growing outside Japan. Known as the "swimming jewel," one nishikigoi can fetch up to tens of millions of yen. Exports from the Tokai region, an area that actively breeds and raises Japanese brocaded carp, grew to ¥264 million in 2015, ...
South Carolina governor wants U.S. to divert shipload of arms-grade plutonium from Japan
The demand by Nikki Haley has the potential to embarrass the Obama administration a week before it hosts an important summit on nuclear nonproliferation.
Japan to return 331 kg of plutonium as U.S. official warns of proliferation risk
A large shipment of plutonium is expected to depart Japan soon amid a warning from a senior American official saying nuclear reprocessing in East Asia could lead to increased amounts of nuclear material that could be used for nuclear weapons. By late Sunday, two armed ...
Former Tokai mayor says Japan is sleep-walking toward further nuclear disasters
The Fukushima nuclear disaster reflects a failure by the government to learn from Japan's first deadly nuclear accident 15 years ago in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, according to the village's former mayor. Speaking to around 350 people at a public meeting there Sunday, Tatsuya Murakami said ...
Japan Atomic Energy Agency to close nuclear fuel reprocessing plant
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency said Monday it will close its nuclear fuel reprocessing plant because it would cost too much to meet tighter safety regulations adopted following the 2011 Fukushima crisis. Starting full-fledged operations in 1981, the spent-fuel reprocessing plant in the village of ...
Japan will return to the United States more than 700 pounds (315 kg) of weapons grade plutonium and a supply of highly enriched uranium, a victory for President Barack Obama's efforts to secure nuclear materials around the world. American and Japanese officials announced the deal ...
Japan to return weapons-grade plutonium U.S. provided during Cold War
Japan plans to return, at the request of Washington, plutonium provided by the United States for research purposes during the Cold War, government sources said Tuesday. The government wants to be seen contributing to nuclear nonproliferation, the sources said. The Obama administration asked for the plutonium ...
