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Japan's Onagawa Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 Plans to Replace Hydrogen Concentration Monitoring Equipment

Tohoku Electric Power has consulted with Miyagi Prefecture, Ishinomaki City, and Onagawa Town in advance regarding a change to the method of monitoring hydrogen concentration inside the containment vessel under severe accident conditions at Unit 2 of the Onagawa Nuclear Power Station. The company plans to submit an application to amend the reactor installation license to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan on the 2nd. Unit 2 of the Onagawa Nuclear Power Station is located in Onagawa Town and Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. Tohoku Electric Power previously installed a total of four hydrogen concentration detectors inside and outside the reactor containment vessel of this unit, intended to monitor changes in hydrogen concentration within the containment vessel in the event of a severe accident. In 2025, some of these detectors experienced malfunctions. In the same year...

2026-09-02

Japan's Helical Fusion Technology Selected as Candidate for METI's Fusion Demonstration Program

Helical Fusion Co., Ltd. has recently been selected as a final candidate for the fusion power demonstration project support program by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The program aims to align with Japan's national fusion strategy, advancing fusion energy into the demonstration phase by the 2030s and building the technical foundation for subsequent commercialization. The left image shows Helix HARUKA, Helical Fusion's integrated demonstration device; the right image shows Helix KANATA, Helical Fusion's fusion test plant. Under the current arrangement, the program will provide approximately 60 billion yen in government funding over three years through 2028, supporting private-sector R&D across multiple fusion technology...

2026-09-01

Hokuriku Electric Power Submits Revised Nuclear Disaster Prevention Business Plan for Shika Nuclear Power Station

Hokuriku Electric Power Company announced on August 31 that it has submitted revisions to the "Nuclear Operator Disaster Prevention Business Plan" for the Shika Nuclear Power Station to the Prime Minister of Japan and the Nuclear Regulation Authority for filing. The plan is formulated under Japan's Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness, and primarily stipulates the operations required of nuclear power stations in nuclear disaster prevention, emergency response, post-nuclear-disaster response, as well as preventing the occurrence and escalation of nuclear disasters and promoting recovery efforts. Hokuriku Electric Power stated that consultations with Ishikawa Prefecture, Shika Town, and Toyama Prefecture have been completed for this revision. Under relevant Japanese laws and regulations, nuclear power...

2026-09-01

Japan's Mihama Nuclear Power Station Unit 3 Plans Grid Connection on September 15

Kansai Electric Power announced on September 1, 2026, that work related to the periodic inspection of Unit 3 at Japan's Mihama Nuclear Power Station is progressing as planned. Based on the progress of the inspection and the status of corrective measures for the steam leakage issue in the high-pressure turbine, the unit is scheduled to be connected to the grid on September 15. Unit 3 of Mihama Nuclear Power Station is a pressurized water reactor unit with a rated electrical output of 826 MW and a rated thermal output of 2,440 MW. On May 8 this year, the unit underwent a manual reactor shutdown after steam leakage was confirmed in the high-pressure turbine. From June 16, the unit entered its 29th periodic inspection. Kansai Electric Power stated that, in response to the steam leakage in the high-pressure turbine, the upper cylinder sealing cover has been replaced based on the results of the cause investigation, and multiple measures such as the development of relevant guidelines are being advanced.

2026-09-01

Japan Plans to Introduce Physical AI into Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Decommissioning

The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) are preparing to introduce Physical AI technology into the decommissioning operations at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to enhance the autonomous operational capabilities of robots in high-radiation environments. This technology enables artificial intelligence to autonomously control robots based on on-site conditions, performing tasks such as inspection, data collection, and cleanup. To advance this effort, an advisory organization involving the government, businesses, universities, and research institutions is planned to be established within the year, with discussions centered on technology development, equipment application, and on-site verification. The organization is expected to be led by relevant government ministries and TEPCO, and will include AI startups, robot manufacturers, and university researchers.

2026-09-01

Japan's Kyoto Fusioneering Secures Series D Funding Led by Korea-Japan Fusion Fund

IMM Investment Japan (IMMJ) announced on September 1 that it has led the Series D funding round for Kyoto Fusioneering, a Japanese fusion energy company. The investment was made through the Korea-Japan Fusion Fund, established jointly by Korean and Japanese investors. The fund, initiated by IMMJ, is positioned as a cross-border project fund designed to connect the capital and industrial networks of major Korean corporations with Japan's cutting-edge technology companies. Investors participating in the fund include POSCO Holdings, POSCO International, Doosan, Hyundai Motor, and GS...

2026-09-01

Kansai Electric Power Applies to Build Dry Cask Storage Facilities for Spent Fuel

Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) announced on August 31 that it has submitted an application to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) seeking approval for the design and construction plans of dry cask storage facilities for spent fuel at its Mihama and Takahama nuclear power plants in Fukui Prefecture. The company plans to begin construction in 2027 and aims to complete the facilities by 2029. This application covers the first-phase construction at the Mihama and Takahama nuclear power plants. KEPCO had previously planned to build a total of four dry cask storage facilities for spent fuel at three nuclear power plants within Fukui Prefecture, including the Mihama, Takahama, and Ohi nuclear power plants. Currently, the related project at the Ohi nuclear power plant and the second-phase construction at the Takahama nuclear power plant remain...

2026-09-01

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station begins 23rd discharge of treated nuclear-contaminated water

At 11:29 on August 31, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station began its fifth discharge of treated nuclear-contaminated water in fiscal year 2026 and the 23rd overall. The operation is scheduled to last 19 days, concluding on September 18, with an estimated discharge of approximately 7,800 tonnes of nuclear-contaminated water diluted with seawater, equivalent to the capacity of about 8 storage tanks. The total tritium content is estimated at approximately 1.2 trillion becquerels. The reactors of Units 1 to 3 at Fukushima Daiichi still contain nuclear fuel that melted and solidified during the accident, known as fuel debris. Groundwater and rainwater that come into contact with this fuel debris form contaminated water. Since the discharge of treated nuclear-contaminated water began in August 2023, Fukushima Daiichi has cumulatively released approximately 173,000 tonnes, equivalent to about 173 storage tanks' capacity.

2026-09-01

Japan Requests Hitachiomiya City in Ibaraki Prefecture to Conduct Literature Survey for High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on August 31 requested Hitachiomiya City in Ibaraki Prefecture to conduct a literature survey, as the first step in siting a final disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste generated from nuclear power plant operations. If Hitachiomiya City agrees, it will become the fifth municipality in Japan to accept such a literature survey, and the second time the Japanese government has proactively requested a survey from a local government, following Minamitorishima in Ogasawara Village, Tokyo. On the same day, Takashi Kume, Vice Commissioner of Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, visited the Hitachiomiya City government and submitted the survey request to Mayor Sadanori Suzuki. Suzuki stated that he personally takes a positive stance toward accepting the literature survey, and noted that the city faces issues such as rapid population decline and a weak local economy, adding that if the area has favorable geological conditions, participating in the national geological disposal policy would be of "significant importance." He said he would make a decision after hearing the views of the city assembly, with the matter possibly being discussed at the regular assembly meeting as early as September.

2026-09-01

NMR Reveals Thermal Self-Organization in Resistive Switching of Organic Conductor by Japanese Team

A joint research team from Tokyo University of Science, the National Institute for Materials Science, and RIKEN in Japan recently used bulk-sensitive ¹H-NMR measurements to reveal the internal electronic state of the organic conductor (d7-DMe-DCNQI)2Cu during resistive switching. The study found that, in the switching state, the material does not form a uniform new electronic phase, but rather a coexistence of metallic and insulating phases within the material. Schematic of bulk-crystal ¹H-NMR measurements Resistive switching refers to the phenomenon in which a material's resistance changes significantly under an applied current or voltage, and has attracted attention in research on correlated electron systems, memory devices, and neuromorphic devices. Previous studies have mostly...

2026-08-31

Japanese Team Achieves Femtosecond Soft X-ray Hyperspectral Microscopy, Simultaneously Acquiring Spatial and Energy Information with Single Pulse

On August 21, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, RIKEN, and the University of Tokyo announced that a research team comprising Assistant Professor Yoko Takeo and Associate Professor Takashi Kimura from the Institute for Solid State Physics at the University of Tokyo, Assistant Professor Satoru Egawa from the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, and Team Leader Makina Yabashi from the RIKEN SPring-8 Center, among others, successfully developed and implemented a femtosecond soft X-ray hyperspectral microscope. The findings were published on August 20 in the U.S. scientific journal *Optica*. This technology utilizes a single soft X-ray pulse from an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) to simultaneously acquire soft X-ray spectra transmitted through different positions of a sample, enabling...

2026-08-31

Japan Atomic Energy Agency discovers magnetic "strong-weak waves" in uranium semiconductor

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency announced on August 21 that its research team has discovered a special magnetic structure in the layered uranium semiconductor α-UTe3 (α-uranium tritelluride): the magnetism of uranium atoms not only alternates in opposite directions, but its magnetization intensity also periodically strengthens and weakens depending on the crystal position, forming a state resembling “strong-weak waves.” α-UTe3 is composed of uranium and tellurium atoms and belongs to van der Waals layered materials, where atomic layers are stacked through weak interlayer forces. Using high-quality α-UTe3 single crystals, the research team analyzed its low-temperature magnetic structure through resistivity, specific heat, and magnetization measurements, as well as nuclear magnetic resonance and single-crystal neutron diffraction techniques...

2026-08-31

Japan's J-PARC Uses Negative Muon Non-Destructive Analysis to Reveal Gold-Rich Surface Structure of Nagoya Castle's Golden Shachi Scales

A joint research team comprising the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), the J-PARC Center, the Nagoya Castle Research Center, and the National Museum of Nature and Science, among others, used the negative muon beam at the J-PARC Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) to conduct non-destructive depth analysis on seven surviving scales of the golden shachi (ornamental dolphin-tiger fish) on Nagoya Castle's keep, confirming that five of the scales have a layered structure with high gold content within approximately 10 micrometers of the surface. The golden shachi on Nagoya Castle's keep was largely destroyed in the air raids of 1945, with some scales rescued and preserved to this day. Previously, researchers had examined these scales using X-ray fluorescence analysis, but the results showed that some scales with a bright golden appearance did not necessarily have a high average gold content.

2026-08-31

Japanese research team visualizes cellular metabolic changes during fracture healing using hyperpolarized MRI

August 21, 2026, Gifu Pharmaceutical University and Gifu University announced that a multi-institutional Japanese research team successfully visualized changes in the redox state of skeletal progenitor cells during fracture healing in living mice using hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging technology. The findings were published online on August 15, 2026, in the British academic journal *npj Imaging*. The study was led by Takuya Kubo, a graduate student in the Department of Pharmacology at Gifu Pharmaceutical University, Professor Eiichi Hinoi, and related research teams at Gifu University, in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, Osaka University, the Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, and other institutions. After a fracture occurs, a tissue called a...

2026-08-31

Japan's PF Launches Quantum Multi-Beam Experiments, Achieving Simultaneous Hard and Soft X-ray Measurements

The Photon Factory, a synchrotron radiation facility at the Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Japan, has recently launched collaborative experiments on the development and research multi-purpose beamlines BL-11A and BL-11B, achieving simultaneous irradiation of the same sample with hard and soft X-rays at the same position. The research results will be published in the international academic journal *Review of Scientific Instruments*. The Photon Factory uses electrons moving at near-light speed to generate high-brightness X-rays, known as synchrotron radiation, for studying material structures and properties. Among these, hard X-rays are better suited for observing the internal structure of materials, while soft X-rays are ideal for analyzing material surfaces and electronic states. Previously, at synchrotron radiation facilities, the two types of X-rays typically had to...

2026-08-31