Chairman Greeting

Once again it is a pleasure to offer my annual greeting to you. This is an opportunity to reflect on industry safety performance, progress at JANSI and consider the external factors that continually challenge and shape the Japanese electric industry.

As I write this greeting, 14 nuclear units at 8 sites have returned to service. Notably in 2024 an important industry milestone was achieved as 2 boiling water reactors (BWRs) were returned to service following long-duration shutdowns to conduct safety upgrades. These were the first BWRs returned to service since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011. We recognize the hard work and unwavering commitment to nuclear safety demonstrated by the men and women of Tohoku Electric Power Company and Chugoku Electric Power Company as Onagawa Unit 2 and Shimane Unit 2 were restarted. Onagawa Nuclear Power Station is the closest plant to the epicenter of the Great East Japan Earthquake. I also want to commend the high level of industry support that was provided to these 2 stations such that the lessons from previous restarts were applied as the units were safely returned to service. In addition to the 2 restarted units, the other 12 operating units continue to operate at high levels of safety and reliability as measured by internationally accepted measures of performance. Furthermore, steady work continues as additional units across Japan prepare for regulatory approvals, complete safety upgrades and work regain public confidence to support restart.

At JANSI we completed the first year of our new 10-year strategy. We focused on continuous improvement of JANSI peer reviews, including the implementation of WANO peer review equivalency, the execution and continued development of performance monitoring and continuous improvement for operating units, and maintenance of a strong focus on supporting the restart of BWR units. In each of these focus areas we can report steady progress against established annual milestones. Furthermore, we advanced our support of the industry in all other areas of our strategy. At our Annual Conference we highlighted the importance of training, learning and proficiency for individual contributors, work teams and industry leaders. It is the state where the comprehensive ability (with knowledge and skills) to identify challenges in the situation of the field and appropriately address the challenges. For example, It refers to the capability to implement tasks properly even under circumstances different from those experienced or learned in the past. It is important to have self-awareness of ability at all levels of individual, team, leader, organization. The development of the knowledge and skills of people across the industry is critical to sustained high performance. Today in our industry we are experiencing a generational turnover as well and the proficiency challenge of restarting units following long-duration shutdowns. Both these situations present a challenge to currency in knowledge and skills as well as operational proficiency for workers and leaders. A heightened focus on how well we train our people and assure their proficiency will serve as the foundation for long-term safe and reliable operation.

As we view into 2025, we will focus on continually improving the effectiveness of our peer reviews as we participate in a process to renew WANO peer review equivalence. We will advance our program for performance monitoring and continuous improvement as we integrate this program into the broader framework for monitoring station and corporate performance. As a special focus area, we will carefully monitor performance trends across the industry and develop initiatives to address any area that falls short of international excellence. Our initial performance areas of attention will be contractor industrial safety and collective radiation exposure. Whereas these areas are affected by the current high level of heavy construction work as safety upgrades are completed and units are returned to service, JANSI has established 2 industry-supported working groups to further understand and develop improvement actions to ensure sustained high performance in these areas. As noted above, we will advance our thinking and practices in the areas of training, learning and proficiency. At JANSI, we consider it part of our culture to teach something and learn something every day.

The importance of carbon-free, secure, reliable and resilient nuclear generation of electricity is as evident today as ever. Everything in modern society is underpinned by the availability of safe and reliable energy. This imperative was clearly described in the most recent Basic Energy Plan for Japan where the need for increased reliance on nuclear energy was specified. Internationally, other countries are recognizing the important role of nuclear energy by pursuing life extension and power uprates, restarting previously shuttered plants, development of small modular reactors and advanced reactors as well as building traditional large capacity power plants. This emergent enthusiasm for nuclear energy reinforces the importance of the JANSI mission. Public policy and support are important and contribute to industry success, however an unwavering commitment to excellence in nuclear safety is what will ensure achievement of success. At JANSI we will work diligently to strive for the highest standards of industry excellence. We will work collaboratively with WANO, ATENA, NRRC and other like-minded organizations in pursuit of safety excellence. I am grateful for the support and engagement of industry personnel, both domestically and internationally, as we define the standards, practices and programs necessary for sustained safe performance.

In closing, I look forward to the upcoming year. At JANSI we have clear direction as defined by our 10-year strategy, we have high level of senior executive support, particularly from our Board of Directors, and station leaders are increasingly using JANSI as an effective means to become self-aware and continuously improve safety. The JANSI staff understands our obligation to the industry and is committed to our motto “Excellence starts at home” in all that we do.

William Edward Webster Jr.
Chairman
Japan Nuclear Safety Institute