Press Conference by Minister Saito (Excerpt)

*Note: This is a provisional translation for reference purposes only.

9:17 to 9:24 a.m.
Friday, May 31, 2024
Press Conference Room, METI Main Building

Opening Remarks

None

Question-and-Answer Session

Retrieval of fuel debris from Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Q: I have questions related to the fuel debris at the nuclear power station.
Yesterday, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) specified the timing of the start of operations for trial retrieval of the debris at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) at around between August and October. What is your reaction to the clarification of the timing?

Also, as the start of this work was initially scheduled for December 2021 under the Mid-and-Long Term Roadmap, simply put, this means a delay of around three years. The assumption is that the decommissioning will be completed by 2051. At this point in time, do you think that it is necessary to review that timetable?

A: Regarding the trial retrieval of the fuel debris at Unit 2 of TEPCO’s FDNPS, the company announced a specific timing of the start of the retrieval operations as “approximately between August and October,” in consideration of the approval granted by the Nuclear Regulation Authority and the completion of retrieval of the sediment inside of the through hole where the “telesco-style” retrieval equipment will be inserted.

Various challenging procedures still await going forward such as installing relevant equipment and facilities and the retrieval of equipment within the reactor building where the radiation level is high; however, it is my hope that TEPCO will proceed with preparatory work by safely and steadily  starting the trial retrieval of the fuel debris.

Regarding the trial retrieval of the fuel debris, although the timing has been delayed from the initial schedule, the information regarding the situation within the reactor and the expertise for improving the precision of the robot arm that will be gained through the trial retrieval will be useful for the next steps, and at the moment, I have no reason to believe that there has been a significant impact on the decommissioning process or overall schedule. Therefore, there will be no change in our policy of completing the decommissioning between 2041 and 2051 based on the current Mid-and-Long Term Roadmap.