Japan’s Quest for Nuclear Energy and the Price It Has Paid

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• Professor w. Tue Apr 27 2021

  Professor Dr. Wolfgang G. Winkler

  Fukushima was the accident that needed not to happen and therefore it seemed to be the beginning of the final end of nuclear energy. But the recent discussion about the climate change and the more ad more aggressive demand in societies to abolish human made CO2 emissions reopened the discussion of nuclear energy as back-up energy source for renewable energy and upcoming hydrogen economy. However the event is now 10 years ago but it is the last one with a still great impact on environment. But the debate about how to reach the Paris agreement targets made Fukushima again very interesting for societies to get information about the Fukushima accident, its history, its current impact, and what are the lessons learned for future projects. Among many publications and books in relation to the topic of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, “Japan’s Quest for Nuclear Energy and the Price It Has Paid: Accidents, Consequences, and Lessons Learned for the Global Nuclear Industry,” by Noriko Behling, Thomas Behling, Mark Williams and Shunsuke Managi was especially valuable in reconsidering fundamentally many aspects related to the challenges of nuclear power.

• Xueyan S. Tue Apr 27 2021

  Japan’s Quest for Nuclear Energy and the Price It Has Paid

  I bought this book in January 2020 because of my research background and enormous interest in various types of energy generation and my quest for understanding the cause of terrible events in the year 2011 and its further development since then. When I was first reading that in January 2020, I was very impressed with the way that the book is written; it is written as a direct dialogue between the authors and readers and answered all the questions that I had about the nuclear industry. It covers a wide range of contents from the principles of the nuclear power generations, the establishment of an energy policy that promotes and nurtures the nuclear industry, the devastating accidents, and the possible approaches of creating a viable zero accident nuclear Energy Culture. This book made me ponder when I read it for the first time, and then it was quietly sitting on my bookshelf during the past year. I picked it up last week again because of the continued push and the emerging new investment on the net-zero carbon emission technology, including nuclear power. Most importantly, I picked it up because of the latest controversy about Japan’s plan to release radioactive Fukushima plant tritium water into the ocean, which concerns everyone deeply. The ongoing COVID has taught us what is most important to each and all of us and how we should take care of each other and the air that we all breathe in, and the earth that we are living on. When the legislation may take nuclear power as a variable option for net-zero carbon emission, it is worthwhile to re-visit the history and ponder the lessons we have been taught. The entire world and every nation realize now how very fragile life is due to the ongoing COVID, and it cannot afford another disaster like further destruction by the nuclear power plants. As everyone surely agrees, the worlds need to put human and safety measures in place for all technologies ranging from biotechnology to nuclear power. This book describes not only the history of nuclear energy from the beginning (Chapters 1-4) to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster(Chapter 5) and but also Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal(Chapter 6), Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities(Chapter 7), Status and Health of Japan’s Nuclear Industry(Chapter 8) and Creating a Viable Zero-Accident Nuclear Energy Culture(Chapter 9) which gives very important plan on the activities necessary to develop a safer society in the future worldwide. The book provides great advice and numerous recommendations that could improve the safety culture of the nuclear industry, points out creative solutions to the challenges that nuclear energy presents, and counsels the government and industry to devise financial and culturally-based safety incentives to foster nuclear safety. Believe it or not, humankind paid a significant price for ignorance and neglect. Sometimes, the solution to very sophisticated problems can be very straightforward. It is like the significance and effectiveness of wearing face masks to stop the COVID. All of those solutions have to be realized and appreciated by everyone, and it all has to start from the recognition and acknowledgment of our ignorance and neglect. I highly recommend this book to everyone (I mean EVERYONE, from Junior high school students to university researchers, to the government labs, and to the legislators). This is a well-written book that gives you your own takeaway. I especially recommend Chapter 9 of the book about the safety practices that would create a viable zero-accident nuclear energy culture.

• Akira M. Thu Apr 22 2021

  Values of the book to create resilience in our society

  In March 2021, during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, we spent much valuable time via events, meetings, and conferences to recall the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster of March 11, 2011. We seriously considered a variety of activities and initiatives during the past 10 years to recover and rebuild after the big earthquake, including how to start new activities to prepare for future disasters and create resilience in our communities. Among many publications and books that have addressed these issues, especially the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, is one important book, “Japan’s Quest for Nuclear Energy and the Price It Has Paid: Accidents, Consequences, and Lessons Learned for the Global Nuclear Industry,” by Noriko Behling, Thomas Behling, Mark Williams and Shunsuke Managi. It is especially valuable in its reconsideration of many fundamental aspects necessary to deal with the challenges of nuclear energy. The book describes the history of nuclear energy from its very beginnings (Chapters 1-4), the impact of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster in terms of other nuclear accidents (Chapter 5), Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal (Chapter 6), Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities (Chapter 7), and also the Status and Health of Japan’s Nuclear Industry (Chapter 8). Most significantly, it examines ways Japan could create a viable Zero-Accident Nuclear Energy Culture (Chapter 9). The chapter gives very important information on how to plan the many activities necessary to develop a safer society on a worldwide basis and provides great advice and numerous recommendations that could improve the safety culture of the nuclear industry in Japan. It points out creative solutions to the challenges that nuclear energy presents and counsels the government and industry to devise financial and culturally based safety incentives to foster nuclear safety. I would like to recommend all people who are interested in a variety of technologies and industries, especially those who are engaged in nuclear energy to carefully read the whole contents of the book, especially Chapter 9, and learn to build in safety practices that would create a viable Zero-Accident Nuclear Energy Culture.