Amid uncertainty about long-term energy policy, Japanese imports of fossil fuels continue to rise as utilities secure supplies of coal and liquefied natural gas.

The Japan Nuclear Safety Institute has been launched to improve the safety of Japan's nuclear industry by sharing operating experience and safety knowledge among the country's nuclear companies.

Costs related to clean-up efforts of low-level waste from the Fukushima accident could double the previous liability estimate, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) suggested. The utility is seeking additional government funds to help meet these costs.

The Metropolis uranium conversion plant will resume production in June 2013 when post-Fukushima safety upgrades should be completed at the facility, plant operator Honeywell announced. The plant has been offline since May.

US nuclear regulators and power companies are readying themselves for the approach of Hurricane Sandy, expected to make landfall along the central coast of New Jersey.

The US nuclear industry is preparing for future emergencies by establishing two regional centres that should operate from mid-2014. Vital equipment to maintain safety in an extreme event will be able to reach any of the USA's nuclear plants within 24 hours.

China plans a 'steady' return to full-scale nuclear build, approving a 'small number' of projects in each of the coming five years and restricting technology selection to Generation-III designs only.

Xcel Energy, owner of the Prairie Island nuclear power plant, has made a last minute submission advising against uprating the plant as it has realised a new fuel allows them to push their operating cycle out from 18 to 24 months.

Chugoku Electric Power Co requested an extension to its licence for carrying out groundwork at the site of its planned Kaminoseki nuclear power plant in Yamaguchi prefecture. Although rejected, the move suggests the company still hopes to move forward with the project, despite the Japanese government recently saying that no new nuclear power plant construction projects would be approved.

Japan's newly established Nuclear Regulation Authority aims to have a new safety legal framework in place by July 2013 to enable the country's idled nuclear power reactors to restart. However, it is currently unclear who will ultimately be responsible for authorizing restarts.

Safety is generally good at Europe's nuclear power plants although nearly all need to make some improvements, according to the European Commission's formally released findings on the results of stress tests. Some regulators are not entirely happy with the way the Commission has drawn its conclusions.