The Japanese government has made the formal decision that the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor will not be restarted and steps will be taken to decommission it. However, the government also said the country's development of fast reactors would continue.

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has signed a memorandum of cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy with two Japanese ministries. One key area of cooperation under the agreement will be post-accident recovery at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant.

UPDATED The governor of Fukui prefecture has called the Japanese government's proposal to decommission the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor (FBR) as "totally unacceptable". However, the government announced a formal decision on 20 December to scrap the reactor.

Kyushu Electric Power Company yesterday began the process of restarting the reactor of unit 1 at its Sendai nuclear power plant in Japan's Kagoshima prefecture following a periodic inspection. The prefectural governor had opposed the restart of the unit, which resumed operation in August 2015 following a shutdown of the country's nuclear fleet.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has concluded that domestically produced nuclear power plant components are sufficiently strong for their intended purpose.

Tepco found no "abnormalities" at its Fukushima plants following an off-shore earthquake on Tuesday morning. The cooling system in the used fuel pool of Tepco's Fukushima Daini unit 3 automatically shut but was subsequently restarted. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued tsunami warnings following the magnitude 7.4 quake.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has approved an extension to the operating period for Kansai Electric Power's Mihama unit 3, enabling the plant to operate for up to 60 years.

The prime ministers of India and Japan have welcomed the signature today of a nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries. Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe said the agreement reflects a new level of mutual confidence and strategic partnership for clean energy, economic development and a peaceful and secure world.

The evacuation order for the town of Kawamata in Fukushima prefecture will be lifted next March, allowing residents to permanently return to their homes there, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced.

A proposal to change decommissioning rules in Japan could mean that operators will contribute to funds only during operation, and not, as previously, for a decade after final shutdown.

The head of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has confirmed the importance of fast breeder reactor (FBR) development in Japan at a meeting of public and private sector representatives. Japanese governmental policy on FBRs - including the future of the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor - is to be finalized by the end of the year.

Japan has established a new organisation tasked with managing its reprocessing of used fuel, METI announced on 3 October. The Nuclear Reprocessing Organisation of Japan will be funded by the country's power utilities to cover the cost of the reprocessing work.