The evacuation order for the town of Kawamata in Fukushima prefecture will be lifted next March, allowing residents to permanently return to their homes there, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced.

A proposal to change decommissioning rules in Japan could mean that operators will contribute to funds only during operation, and not, as previously, for a decade after final shutdown.

The head of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has confirmed the importance of fast breeder reactor (FBR) development in Japan at a meeting of public and private sector representatives. Japanese governmental policy on FBRs - including the future of the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor - is to be finalized by the end of the year.

Japan has established a new organisation tasked with managing its reprocessing of used fuel, METI announced on 3 October. The Nuclear Reprocessing Organisation of Japan will be funded by the country's power utilities to cover the cost of the reprocessing work.

In the five-and-a-half years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, "steady progress" is being made in the decommissioning process and contaminated water management at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Hirotaka Ishihara, state minister of the cabinet office of Japan, told the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference yesterday. Decontamination and environmental remediation are "moving forward" and the evacuation zones are "growing smaller", Ishihara said.

The restart of Japan's nuclear power reactors is "critical" to the success of the country's energy policy, according to the International Energy Agency. However, it says nuclear power can only be restored provided that the highest safety standards can be met and public trust regained.

Japan Electric Power Development Corp has announced a further two-year delay in the construction of additional safety measures at unit 1 of the Ohma nuclear power plant, being built in Japan's Aomori prefecture. Construction of the unit is now expected to be completed in late 2023 or early 2024.

Kansai Electric Power Company has released a plan of safety improvement works it will carry out to extend the operating periods of units 1 and 2 of its Takahama nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukui prefecture beyond 40 years. Regulatory approval for operating the units for up to 60 years has already been granted.

Unit 3 of the Ikata nuclear power plant in Japan's Ehime prefecture has resumed commercial operation, Shikoku Electric Power Company announced today. Only two other Japanese reactors are currently in commercial operation.

Kyushu Electric Power Company has rejected a request from the governor of Japan's Kagoshima prefecture that operation of units 1 and 2 of the Sendai nuclear power plant be suspended immediately for safety checks. The company said it will continue operating the units until they enter routine scheduled outages later this year.

France's Areva has started fabrication of 16 mixed-oxide fuel assemblies for use in unit 4 of the Takahama nuclear power plant, Kansai Electric Power Company announced on 30 August. Although the unit is one of five Japanese reactors to have been restarted, a court injunction has suspended its operation.

The recently-elected governor of Japan's Kagoshima prefecture has today requested Kyushu Electric Power Company temporarily suspends operation of units 1 and 2 of its Sendai nuclear power plant. Only one other power reactor is currently in operation in the country.