2 online - 10 have passed the "safety" tests

January 18, 2017

Operational status of Japan nuclear plants

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20170118_19/

Japan's nuclear regulator has so far approved safety measures for 10 reactors at 5 plants. Two of these reactors are online as of January 18th.

There are a total of 42 reactors at 16 nuclear power plants across Japan. That number excludes reactors set to be scrapped.

Twenty-six reactors are now being checked for compliance with regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

The 10 reactors that have cleared checks include 2 at the Genkai nuclear power plant, which were approved on Wednesday.

The others are: the Sendai No.1 and 2 reactors in Kagoshima Prefecture; the No.3 reactor at the Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture; and the Takahama No.3 and 4 reactors in Fukui Prefecture.

They also include 3 reactors allowed to operate beyond the basic operational limit of 40 years. They are the Takahama No.1 and 2 reactors and the No. 3 at Mihama nuclear plant in Fukui.

The reactors now online are the Sendai No.1 and the Ikata No.3.

Operation of the No. 3 and 4 reactors at the Takahama plant was suspended after residents of a nearby prefecture filed a lawsuit.

The 3 aging reactors need additional safety measures before restarts. Their operator estimates it will take around 3 years for those reactors to go back online.