US EditionAs Fukushima memories fade, Japan embraces a nuclear-powered future
Fifteen reactors have restarted amid rising energy demands and shifting public opinion, with 51% now supporting nuclear restarts, government says.
- A government push led by Sanae Takaichi is accelerating reactor restarts, with 51 per cent support in an Asahi poll, including 66 per cent among young adults.
- The 2011 disaster at Fukushima Daiichi led to meltdowns, explosions, and the evacuation of about 160,000 people from Okuma and surrounding towns, with a 2012 inquiry blaming TEPCO and regulators.
- Operators are deploying micro-drones and planning remote probes and robots to analyze and remove fuel debris, with efforts expected to take decades, as TEPCO's cleanup units face technical challenges.
- Resettlement and economic projects show Okuma, Fukushima prefecture aims to revive its population after falling from 11,000 to just over 1,000; F-REI in Namie and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ $3 billion nuclear sales forecast by 2027 support recovery.
- Energy-Security and industrial demand pressures mean only 15 of 33 operable reactors are online, officials warn of talent shortages with just 177 nuclear-related students in 2024 amid over 1,000 yearly earthquakes.
53 Articles
53 Articles
15 years after Fukushima nuclear disaster, recovery continues in changed landscape
Nature is reclaiming abandoned buildings in the exclusion zone surrounding Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, an area that appears frozen in time 15 years after disaster struck.
The Toronto Star
An innkeeper in Fukushima measures radiation to revive her hometown, in photos
Monitors like innkeeper Tomoko Kobayashi share radiation data to revitalize towns people left after the Fukushima earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
Associated Press News
15 years after Fukushima meltdown, an innkeeper makes radiation surveys to revitalize her hometown
Tomoko Kobayashi reopened her inn in northeastern Fukushima to bring a sense of normal life back to her deserted hometown five years after the nuclear disaster.
Japan reactivates nuclear power stations fifteen years after Fukushima, a decision that reopens wounds that have never been closed down. As the country recalls the worst nuclear disaster in its recent history, oil prices and geopolitical instability push the government to reconsider atomic energy as a strategic pillar. The decision comes at a particularly symbolic moment: this week marks the fifteenth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami th…
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