Cabinet Decision on the “Cabinet Order for Stipulating the Enforcement Date of Part of the Act for Partial Revision of the Electricity Business Act and Other Acts for Establishing Electricity Supply Systems for Realizing a Decarbonized Society”

1. Summary of the Cabinet Order

The Cabinet Order stipulates the enforcement date of the provisions prescribed in Article 1(4) of the Supplementary Provisions of the Revised Act as June 6, 2025. The major measures stipulated in the provisions specified in Article 1(4) are as follows.

(1) Development of disciplines for the operation period of nuclear power stations (Electricity Business Act)

Based on the premise that the operation period of a nuclear power station should be 40 years, the Revised Act is to permit nuclear operators to extend the operation period, provided that the operators obtain permission for the extension from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry based on certain perspectives, including securing a stable power supply and contributing to green transformation (GX). In this case, while maintaining the existing framework that the “operation period should be limited to a maximum of 60 years,” the Revised Act is to allow nuclear operators to remove the period during which they have suspended the operation of any nuclear power station due to factors extraneous to them, from the calculation of the 60-year operation period.

(2) Establishing stricter regulations for aged nuclear reactors (Act on the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and Reactors)

The Revised Act is to require nuclear operators every ten or fewer years to: assess technical matters on the deterioration of equipment of a nuclear reactor if the operators intend to operate the reactor beyond 30 years from the start of operation; formulate a plan to manage the deterioration; and obtain permission for continued operation from the Nuclear Regulation Authority.

Note: The Cabinet Order is also to stipulate the enforcement date of the provisions prescribed in Article 1(3) of the Supplementary Provisions of the Revised Act (provisions stipulating the procedures for the preparation of smooth transition to the system shown in Item (2) above)as October 1, 2023.

2. Related Materials

• Outline (in Japanese)(PDF:33KB)
• Bill of the Cabinet Order and reasons (in Japanese)(PDF:36KB)
• Referential provisions (in Japanese)(PDF:45KB)
• Outline of the Revised Act (in Japanese)(PDF:240KB)

Division in Charge

Nuclear Energy Policy Planning Division, Electricity and Gas Industry Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy