EXCLUSIVE: N-Fuel Amounts by Utility at Aomori Reprocessing Plant Unveiled

Aomori, Sept. 12 (Jiji Press)–Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. has disclosed the amount of spent nuclear fuel held by each electric power company at its reprocessing plant under construction in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori, Jiji Press learned Saturday. According to the data, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. had the largest amount of spent fuel stored in pools at the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the village of Rokkasho as of the end of March 2025, with 890 tons. This was followed by Kansai Electric Power Co., at 720 tons, and Kyushu Electric Power Co., at 400 tons. Japan Nuclear Fuel aims to complete the plant during the current fiscal year, which ends next March. Until now, the company had released the details of how much spent nuclear fuel was transported to the plant and where it came from. The amount of each power company’s spent nuclear fuel stored at the plant, however, had not been disclosed. “As we’d received many inquiries, we decided to release (such information) after consulting with people inside and outside our company,” a Japan Nuclear Fuel public relations official said. The company started publishing the information on its website in November last year. Nuclear fuel stored at the plant also includes 110 tons from Hokkaido Electric Power Co., 100 tons from Tohoku Electric Power Co., 250 tons from Chubu Electric Power Co., 20 tons from Hokuriku Electric Power Co., 120 tons from Chugoku Electric Power Co., 170 tons from Shikoku Electric Power Co. and 180 tons from Japan Atomic Power Co. Starting operations in 1998, the pools at the plant have a storage capacity of 3,000 tons. Currently, about 2,968 tons of such fuel are stored in the pools, with the Japan Nuclear Fuel official saying that the facilities have “almost reached full capacity.” The company has suspended accepting spent fuel, with the last batch accepted in 2016. Japan Nuclear Fuel aims to start the plant’s operations in the second half of the next fiscal year. It is expected to resume accepting spent fuel in fiscal 2028, as there will be space in the pools when the reprocessing process starts. As the plant’s construction completion has been delayed 27 times so far, it remains uncertain whether things will go as planned. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]