University research reactors were not exempt from the shutdowns of nuclear reactors that the central government ordered after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture.
University research reactors were not exempt from the shutdowns of nuclear reactors that the central government ordered after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture.
University research reactors exist at only two locations in Japan. The shutdowns mean that students are still unable to practice hands-on operations.
This could have repercussions for experiments on decommissioning nuclear reactors and radiation therapy. For this reason, some universities have begun organizing training programs overseas.
Those involved in the programs have called for a prompt restart of the research reactors, but there are no signs that any decision will be made anytime soon.
Ten or so students from Kinki University, Nagoya University and Kyushu University had the opportunity last July to work with a 10-watt nuclear reactor at Kyung Hee University in South Korea.
They conducted experiments relating to nuclear reactor physics, radiation readings and other areas.
Tetsuo Ito, who heads the Kinki University Atomic Energy Research Institute, said, "This was the first time for us to do practical training at a nuclear reactor overseas."
The institute intends to continue the program this year as well.
Kinki University has a 1-watt research reactor in Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. The university applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) last October to restart it. The goal was for a restart in or around spring 2015, but as yet there are no indications this will happen.
There are no changes to room temperature and pressure when the reactor is operating.
Since there is no need to counter large amounts of heat, the reactor requires no cooling equipment. A Kinki University faculty member said with bewilderment, "It is structurally impossible for a big accident like the one at Fukushima to occur at the Kinki University reactor."
Aside from the two research facilities belonging to Kinki University and Kyoto University, Japan has 11 other research reactors.
After the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. in March 2011, new regulatory standards were drawn up to cover not only commercial reactors, but also the 14 owned by universities and private companies.
One of two research reactors operated by Kyoto University generates 100 watts. It has been used for practical training since 1975, and more than 3,000 graduate students from Japan and abroad have worked on it.
Prior to the nuclear disaster, the university's 5,000-kilowatt reactor was used for 200 or so joint research projects by researchers from across Japan every year. Ken Nakajima, a professor of nuclear engineering at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, says, "We want to somehow restart sometime in the upcoming academic year" that begins on April 1.
On Feb. 25, during a regular meeting of the NRA, chairman Shunichi Tanaka was at pains to point out that a research reactor is quite different from a normal nuclear reactor. He called on experts to "also think a little bit about pushing the screenings forward" while basing their decisions on safety considerations.
The University of Tokyo, Rikkyo University and other institutions also used to operate research reactors, but they were decommissioned because of maintenance costs and aging equipment. The number of research reactors owned by companies and other non-utilities also looks set to decline.
In 2013, a subcommittee of the Science Council of Japan compiled a document that proposed Japan "should begin considering replacements for research reactors" so that aspiring workers in the field can get the proper training.
Computers that simulate the inner workings of a nuclear reactor are, of course, another option. But Shinsuke Yamanaka, a professor of nuclear fuel engineering at Osaka University, says, "It can't be a substitute for the tension of handling the real thing."
Yamanaka added this plea: "Even if we adopt a policy of not promoting nuclear power, universities will still need to produce graduates who work with nuclear energy. I'd like the NRA to conduct its screening with this reality in mind."
In the meantime, efforts are under way to build new research reactors.
In November, Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa declared in the prefectural assembly that he would begin working with the national government, universities, corporate entities and other sources of funding to consider taking on the project of building a new research reactor.
As there are no university reactors in the prefecture, the University of Fukui and Fukui University of Technology had used Kinki University's nuclear reactor for hands-on training. Some assembly members questioned the need for such a facility in Fukui Prefecture.
Prefectural government officials explained that the intention was to "consider this issue because universities have expressed a sense of crisis."
They said the prefecture will not be involved in attracting such facilities.