Nuclear power plant construction and operating experience in Japan

Japanese commercial large-size nuclear power reactor development had its start with the adoption of two types of light water reactors, the boiling-water reactor and the pressurized-water reactor, both originated in the U.S.A. As a result of the scrupulous advance preparation done for the construction work and the successful technological development accomplished through the well-coordinated joint efforts of the Government of Japan and Japanese research laboratories, utilities, and reactor makers, we are convinced that both the BWR and the PWR have now been developed into reliable reactors suitable for Japanese environmental conditions. They have, in fact, been developed to the point, where these reactors should play an important role in Japan's power-generating system in the future. I wish to describe the construction and operating experience of both the BWR and the PWR in Japan. However, to avoid any unnecessary confusion in my explanation, I would prefer to concentrate on our experience with the PWR as representative