Unit 2 of the Shimane nuclear power plant in Japan's Shimane Prefecture was restarted on 7 December, Chugoku Electric Power Company announced. It becomes the fourteenth Japanese reactor - and the second boiling water reactor - to resume operation.

France's Framatome has signed a Design Cooperation Implementation Arrangement for the development of sodium-cooled fast reactors with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi FBR Systems.

France's Orano has signed two mixed-oxide fuel manufacturing contracts with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for a total of 64 MOX fuel assemblies for use in two Japanese nuclear power reactors.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has officially ruled that unit 2 of the Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture cannot be restarted as it does not comply with regulatory safety standards.

Chugoku Electric Power Company has announced that it plans to resume operation of unit 2 at its Shimane nuclear power plant on 7 December. The 789 MWe boiling water reactor has been offline since January 2012.

The FAST (Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) project has been launched in Japan with the aim of achieving fusion-based power generation by the end of the 2030s.

Poland's Ministry of Industry and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have signed a memorandum to promote Polish-Japanese cooperation in the nuclear sector. Meanwhile, the Polish and Dutch nuclear regulators have agreed to cooperate.

Tokyo Electric Power Company announced it has successfully completed the trial removal of a sample of fuel debris from the primary containment vessel of unit 2 at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has granted an operating licence for an off-site interim dry storage facility for used nuclear fuel in Mutsu, Aomori prefecture. It is the first such facility in the country.