Most of the fuel that melted in unit 2 of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan remains within the reactor pressure vessel, an examination using a muon detection system indicates.

Seven Japanese nuclear power reactors are likely to be in operation by the end of next March and 12 more one year later, according to an estimate by the country's Institute of Energy Economics. Judicial rulings and local consents will influence the rate of restart, it notes.

Horizon Nuclear Power, the Japan Atomic Power Company and Hitachi have signed a technical services contract for the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant in North Wales. JAPC is to support Horizon in areas including construction costing, licensing, and planning for commissioning.

French utility EDF and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have today signed a memorandum of understanding for collaboration in civil nuclear power, including MHI taking a stake in Areva NP and joint development of the Atmea reactor design.

The Japanese nuclear regulator has today approved the operation of units 1 and 2 of Kansai Electric Power Company's Takahama nuclear power plant for up to 60 years. They become the first Japanese units to be granted a licence extension beyond 40 years under revised regulations.

The Otsu District Court has today upheld an injunction that has kept units 3 and 4 of Kansai Electric Power Company's Takahama nuclear power plant offline since March. The Japanese utility announced it will remove the fuel from the units.

In preparation for the installation of a fuel removal machine and a protective cover over unit 3 of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan, workers have carried out a practice run of installing roof modules onto the base of the fuel handling machine.

A shipment of plutonium and highly enriched uranium from Japan Atomic Energy Agency's (JAEA) Fast Critical Assembly reactor has arrived at two US Department of Energy sites. Japan and the USA announced their commitment to remove the material at 2014 and 2016 nuclear summits.

A committee considering the future of Japan Atomic Energy Agency's Monju prototype fast breeder reactor has set out the requirements for an alternative operator for it.

Chugoku Electric Power Company has submitted an overview of its decommissioning plan for unit 1 of the Shimane nuclear power plant in Japan's Shimane prefecture to the country's nuclear regulator. The company expects dismantling of the plant to take 30 years to complete.

Japan's Toshiba Corporation announced today it expects to take an impairment charge of JPY260 billion ($2.3 billion) for part of the goodwill of its US-based nuclear power subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Company.

Sweden's Studsvik and Kobe Steel of Japan have agreed to extend their existing cooperation by forming a joint venture to provide radioactive waste management solutions to the Japanese nuclear industry.