J‑Power Postpones Public Timeline for Ōma Nuclear Plant Work

Overview

• J‑Power has decided not to publish the autumn timetable it had planned that would have set a target month for beginning safety upgrade work at the Ōma plant.
• The company plans to explain the next steps to the town council but is not expected to give a new target for when the plant will begin operating.
• Officials and reporting say the 2030 fiscal year target for commercial operation is now judged difficult to achieve because regulatory safety reviews have taken far longer than expected.
• The Ōma project began construction in 2008, applied for review under Japan’s stricter post‑2011 rules in 2014, and has delayed the start of safety works six times as seismic and tsunami countermeasures were reworked.
• Future progress now depends on the pace and outcome of the regulator’s conformity review and local agreement, leaving residents and local businesses with continued uncertainty about jobs and investment.