The State of Recovery in Tōhoku 14 Years after 3/11

First Trial Removal of Nuclear Fuel Debris

In November 2024, Tokyo Electric Power Co. announced the successful trial removal of melted nuclear fuel debris weighing approximately 0.7 grams from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station number 2 reactor. This was the first time that debris had been removed since the disaster occurred nearly 14 years earlier. It was transported to a laboratory at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency for analysis of its constituent elements.

The trial removal had been scheduled to begin in 2021, but was delayed by setbacks in developing the equipment. There are an estimated 880 tons of debris in reactors 1 through 3 at the plant and analysis of the debris collected this time will be used as reference when considering future large-scale removal plans.

A 0.7-gram sample of nuclear debris removed from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and stored in a special container. (Courtesy Tokyo Electric Power Company; © Jiji)

Continued Release of Treated Water

Much contaminated water used for cooling nuclear fuel has gone through a filtration process to remove radioactive materials, although tritium and other difficult-to-remove substances may remain. This treated water continued to be released throughout fiscal 2024 and according to TEPCO, as of November 5, 2024, a total of 78,285 tons had been released. As this meant some of the storage tanks had been emptied, TEPCO started dismantling them in February 2025.

A treated water tank being dismantled at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the morning of February 14, 2025. (Courtesy Tokyo Electric Power Company; © Jiji)

At the plant, contaminated water is still being newly produced every day and continues to be treated through a filtration process known as ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System). It is estimated that this release of treated water will remain necessary for at least another 20 years, so effective measures are needed to control the amount of contaminated water being generated.

In September 2024, the Japanese and Chinese governments agreed that China would participate in monitoring under the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency. After this, if Chinese research institutes confirm that treated water is safe, it opens the way for Japanese seafood imports to gradually be resumed.

Decontamination Work Continues in Residence Districts

Decontamination work in communities near Fukushima Daiichi has progressed, although portions of seven municipalities remain closed to habitation.

After ramping up decontamination in “specified reconstruction and revitalization base areas,” special districts inside zones closed to habitation indefinitely, in June 2022 the government began allowing evacuees to return permanently, with restrictions being lifted for all special districts in May 2023. Reconstruction of infrastructure in Ōkuma, Futaba, and other affected towns has progressed, although only a handful of former residents have expressed interest in moving back.

Futaba residents have had the longest delay in being able to return, with only a partial lifting of the evacuation order in August 2022. However, in May 2024, a traditional procession of horses and riders triumphantly returning home after participating in the Sōma Nomaoi Festival was held in the town for the first time in 14 years.

The government convened a ministerial meeting in December 2024 in order to begin making concrete plans for the reuse and disposal of soil resulting from the decontamination process after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. A basic plan of action will be drawn up by spring 2025 on how to dispose of all the decontaminated soil in locations that must be outside Fukushima Prefecture, which is legally required to be completed by March 2045.

Legal Cases and Other Developments

In December 2024, in an appeal court decision, the Osaka High Court overruled the Kyoto District Court ruling in a lawsuit originally filed by 166 people who had evacuated to Kyoto due to the Fukushima Daiichi accident. While the original ruling had recognized that the government and TEPCO were jointly responsible, the new ruling denied government liability, finding only TEPCO to be responsible and ordering it alone to pay more than ¥100 million in compensation. In the series of lawsuits filed by evacuees, following a preceding Supreme Court decision in 2022 ruling that the government was not responsible, subsequent judicial decisions have followed suit.

In October 2024, the number 2 reactor at Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant (Tōhoku Electric Power Company) resumed operation 13 years and 7 months after the 2011 disaster. The following month, an appeal court decision saw Sendai High Court upholding the ruling of Sendai District Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by residents who had sought for plant operations to be halted due to an ineffective evacuation plan prepared in case of a serious accident, and in consequence dismissed their appeal.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: A procession of warriors on horseback making their way through Futaba, Fukushima, on May 26, 2024, after a break of 14 years. © Jiji.)