Fukushima Today and Japan’s Energy Future

On January 17, 2020, the Hiroshima High Court (presiding judge Kazutake Mori) handed down a ruling ordering the halt of Shikoku Electric Power Co.’s Reactor No. 3 at the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant

Prof. Suzuki emphasized the need for long-term studies. The Fukushima Health Management Survey, found that 231 people had or were suspected of having thyroid cancer, and 172 underwent surgery (as reported by the prefecture as of October 2019).

As the volume of contaminated water treated by the so-called Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and stored at the TEPCO Daiichi nuclear plant continues to grow, a subcommittee was established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to discuss how to deal with this water.

The survey found that among the 67 local governments studied (47 prefectures and 20 major cities), 36 (i.e., more than half) had returned to the big power utilities like TEPCO for their electricity procurement, after briefly having contracts with new power producers

Before opening of the JR Joban train line on March 14, 2020, evacuation orders were gradually lifted starting March 4 in the vicinity of three train stations that had been designated as difficult-to-return zones (due to radiation levels after the nuclear accident): Yonomori Station (Tomioka), Ono Station (Okuma), and Futaba Station (Futaba).