Japan (based on JC national report): National framework for management of spent fuel and radioactive waste

After the accident, each nuclear power plant was accordingly shut down at the time of its scheduled periodic facility inspection and by May 2012, all nuclear power stations had suspended operations. Units 3 and 4 at the Kansai Electric Power Company's Ohi Power Station resumed operations in June 2012, but they too subsequently underwent periodic facility inspections and as of August 2014, there are no nuclear power stations in operation in Japan. Japan has 48 power reactor units in service at the end of March 2014, following the decision to decommission Units 1 to 6 at the Fukushima Daiichi NPS. Japan's other nuclear facilities are as follows: 6 nuclear fuel fabrication facilities include 2 uranium enrichment facilities, 2 spent fuel reprocessing facilities, 2 radioactive waste interim storage facilities, 2 radioactive waste repositories, 14 research reactors, 8 research reactors currently under decommissioning, and 15 facilities which use more than a certain quantity of uranium or other nuclear fuel material. According to Japan's new Strategic Energy Plan (April, 2014 Cabinet decision) the storage capacity of spent fuel will be expanded. Specifically, while studying a wide range of locations as possible sites for disposal, regardless of whether they are inside or outside the premises of a power plant, the government of Japan will strengthen its effort for facilitating construction and utilization of new intermediate storage facilities and dry storage facilities. Regarding the nuclear fuel cycle policy, the government of Japan will steadily promote reprocessing and plutonium use in Light Water Reactors (LWRs) while taking into consideration past history and will seek the understanding of the relevant municipalities and the international community, and it will flexibly address measures in the mid- to long-term basis. The government of Japan developed the policy for promoting radioactive waste disposal is following: • Radioactive waste subject to geological disposal is high level radioactive waste and long-lived low-heat generating radioactive wastes (TRU wastes); • Low level radioactive wastes generated in nuclear power plants that are subject to near surface trench disposal and near surface pit disposal are already being disposed of with such methods. However, for intermediate depth disposal system, safety regulations have not been developed.