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Japanese Nuclear Projects Face New Delays and Eroding Trust

Stricter post‑Fukushima reviews plus repeated documentation errors have forced operators to delay safety work, file corrections or schedule executive briefings.

Overview

  • J‑Power told the Ōma town council on Friday that it cannot set a start date for planned safety works and that its long‑promised 2030 operation target is unlikely, with CEO Hideo Kato apologizing for the delay.
  • Ōma is planned as the world’s first commercial full‑MOX reactor, meaning it would run on mixed plutonium‑uranium oxide fuel for the entire core, a design that raises extra technical and regulatory scrutiny.
  • Chugoku Electric finished its explanatory session in the Nuclear Regulation Authority review for Shimane Unit 3 on September 10 and said it will promptly submit corrected application materials after the NRA’s requests.
  • Chubu Electric has received a probe report into falsified seismic and design data at Hamaoka and will have CEO Kengo Hayashi hold a public briefing on September 14 as the company weighs whether to withdraw its restart application.
  • The pattern of repeated paperwork errors, long NRA reviews and a high‑profile data‑falsification case has deepened local distrust, risks further slowing restarts and new builds, and raises questions about industry quality controls and oversight.