The power company also stated that it would notify local communities and relevant parties once the plan—originally scheduled to be compiled by the end of March 2025—is finalized.
In JAPC’s FY25 basic business plan, released on the same day, the section entitled “Maximizing Use of Existing Plants” clearly states the company’s intention to “move forward with reapplying for changing a reactor installation, and preparing for the restart” of Tsuruga-2.
However, regarding the unit’s screening, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan decided on November 13, 2024, that the plant “does not meet the requirements for conformity.”
In response, JAPC indicated its intention to consider the additional surveys needed for it to reapply for screening, after incorporating the opinions of external experts. It had initially applied for compatibility screening under the new regulatory standards for Tsuruga-2 in November 2015.
In the course of seismic and tsunami-related assessments, though, concerns were raised over the presence of the so-called K Fault lying near the extension of the D-1 fracture zone, which runs directly beneath the reactor building. The K Fault was determined to have been possibly active since the late Pleistocene period (approximately 120,000 to 130,000 years ago), meaning that its continuity with the D-1 fracture zone cannot be ruled out. The screening process, including a 14-month suspension, has already taken nine years altogether.
Tsuruga-2 has been offline since May 2011. According to some media reports, an additional survey could take more than two years to complete, so the timing of the reapplication remains undecided. If the additional screening occurs as expected, the total time that the reactor will have been shut down may extend well over a decade.
During the screening process, JAPC had peer reviews conducted in 2013 and 2014 by two international teams composed of experts in risk management and geology. Those reviews dealt with the fracture zone investigation on the Tsuruga site, which had been inherited from the former Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA). JAPC has always maintained that its surveys have “a sound scientific basis.”
Around the same time, the American Geophysical Union (AGU), a prestigious authority in the field of geophysics, also emphasized—through papers published by its expert teams—the importance of having sufficient discussions carried out on the issue, based on scientific findings, between the regulator and operator.
