Three suspected drones recently intruded into a nuclear power complex in southwestern Japan, the country’s nuclear watchdog said Sunday.
Newsweek reached out to Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority by email with a request for comment.
Why It Matters
Japan strictly prohibits drone flights near nuclear power plants under its 2016 Drone Act, with violations punishable by up to a year in prison or a maximum fine of 500,000 yen or approximately $3,370.
Since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster—triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami—Japan’s approach to nuclear energy has shifted dramatically. The government suspended all reactors until 2015, gradually restarting some under stricter safety standards while decommissioning others.
What To Know
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said that bright objects believed to be drones were spotted Saturday over the four-reactor Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, according to Kyodo News.
The statement was more cautious than the organization’s earlier remarks on Saturday, when officials reported the objects as definitely being drones, citing reports from plant operator Kyushu Electric Power Co.
An official with the nuclear regulator described the incident as “extremely unusual.”
Local authorities told Kyodo News that no abnormal fluctuations in radiation levels were detected at the complex afterward, and residents were not instructed to evacuate.
Police spokesperson Masahiro Kosho told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the aircraft have not been recovered. The identities and motives of the drone operators remain unknown, he added.
Japan is cautiously turning back to nuclear power, with a new law allowing reactors to operate beyond 60 years taking effect in June.
Nuclear-generated electricity reached 88.87 terawatt-hours last year—up 9.6 percent from the previous year, according to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum.
That’s due to the reactivation of two boiling water reactors: Onagawa-2, operated by Tohoku Electric Power Co., and Shimane-2, run by Chugoku Electric Power Company.
Aribus/Google Earth
What People Are Saying
A spokesperson for the Nuclear Regulation Authority told AFP: “No abnormalities were detected after the incident was reported, and no drones were found inside the plant’s perimeter.”
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said at an event in Tokyo in March: “The restart of nuclear power plants is critical. I feel really bad that a country I really love, Japan, has so much idle capacity. I very much hope that soon, not only the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant, but other nuclear power plants in Japan will come back, in a safe way.”
What Happens Next?
While Genkai’s No. 3 and 4 units resumed operation in 2018, units 1 and 2 are in the process of being decommissioned.
