A failed referendum to restart a nuclear power plant will increase pressure on Taiwan’s leader to find ways to meet the island’s rising energy needs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/25/asia-pacific/politics/taiwan-nuclear-energy-vote/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #taiwan #nuclearenergy

The White House plans to make available about 20 metric tons of Cold War-era plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads to U.S. power companies as a potential fuel for reactors. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/24/world/politics/trump-us-plutonium-nuclear-power/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #us #nuclearenergy #nuclearweapons #donaldtrump

India aims to allow private firms to mine, import and process uranium as part of plans to end a decades-old state monopoly over the nuclear sector and bring in billions of dollars to boost the industry. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/13/world/india-private-mine-uranium/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #india #narendramodi #nuclearenergy

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said Sunday that it has completed the second round of its fiscal 2025 release of treated water into the ocean from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/03/japan/tepco-2nd-round-treated-water-release/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #tepco #fukushimano1 #radioactivewater #nuclearenergy #fukushima

The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved a safety screening report that the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido meets Japan's safety standards. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/hokkaido-nuclear-reactor-passes-safety-screening/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #hokkaido #tomari #nuclearenergy #earthquakes #tsunami

Full-scale removal of nuclear fuel debris from the No. 3 reactor of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will not start before fiscal 2037, officials said Tuesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/fukushima-nuclear-plant-debris-removal/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #fukushimano1 #nuclearenergy #fukushima #311

The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Sunday corrected its announcement that three drones were found flying over Kyushu Electric Power's Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture on Saturday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/28/japan/drones-over-genkai-nuclear-plant-not-confirmed/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #nuclearenergy #saga #drones

Three drones were seen flying over Kyushu Electric Power's Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture on Saturday, according to the plant operator and the Nuclear Regulation Authority. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/27/japan/drones-genkai-plant/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #nuclearenergy #saga #drones

Still not enough damage done to their country and people?

#japan #kansaielectricpower #nuclearenergy #mihama #fukui

Citing a growing need for power in the nation, Kansai Electric Power Company said it will begin the process of building the first new nuclear reactor since the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/22/japan/kansai-electric-new-reactor/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #kansaielectricpower #nuclearenergy #mihama#fukui

Kansai Electric Power Co. is planning to build a next-generation nuclear reactor at its Mihama power plant in Fukui Prefecture, sources said Friday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/19/companies/kansai-electric-next-generation-nuclear-reactor/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #kansaielectric #nuclearenergy

Discussions among political parties in Japan, which heavily relies on importing fossil fuels, on securing a stable energy supply have been slow in the lead-up to Sunday's election for the Upper House despite the risks. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/15/japan/politics/energy-security-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #dpp #2025upperhouseelection #straitofhormuz #ldp #cdp #iran #nuclearenergy #energy #jcp

Just a subtoot: If you don't 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 nuclear, you'll find reasons to be against it - facts, climate change and human flourishing be damned.

It is therefore the wrong approach to respond against anti-nuclear arguments with facts. Believe me, I've tried. You can reply to worries about nuclear waste (spent fuel) for example with facts - like it being manageable just fine, or it only needing safe storage for 300 years before it becomes radiologically harmless, or it being able to be recycled perfectly fine, or its volume being negligible... If you get a denial of these facts, just stop bothering as people are just being dishonest with you.

I'm also not arguing with people who deny climate change, vaccines, the Earth being a globe (ffs), or whatever crazy batshit stuff people come up with these days. It's just not worth my time. I'll just smile and move along. Being against nuclear is likewise a denial of the science.

What does tend to work (better) is setting an optimistic narrative: industrialised society cannot run on solar and wind alone (this isn't hard arithmetic, it's just not enough, even ignoring other problems inherent with them) and nuclear is a 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 to this problem.

The third world, primarily Africa, is going to explode in energy consumption as they economically develop themselves (at long last) this century and, if we don't want them to burn coal for decades, nuclear energy is a 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 to this problem.

All energy sources have toxic waste streams. Nuclear has the fewest and best managed. It is a 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 to the problem of how to minimise our impact on the environment.

That spent fuel I was talking about earlier? It's full of energy still. So much so that it can power 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 for 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. No more mining needed if we wanted to. Nuclear 'waste' isn't waste at all, it is a 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦.

The degrowth movement has a view that we need to use radically less energy, up to 95% less for the West and 60% less globally. These are numbers degrowthers share. The underlying view, explicit or implicit, is that there are just too many people on this planet. A malthusian view of sinful people. Sometimes this is wrapped up in an anti-capitalist rhetoric that 'infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible'. Catchy slogan, but it doesn't actually align with (capitalist) reality.

Yes, as a communist I strive for the end of capitalism and class society in general. And yes, we'll need to rearrange society by quite a bit. 'Degrow' some sectors, grow others. But for humans to flourish we need loads of clean energy. We need to in fact 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘦 our energy production as a species, up it by a factor 2 or 3 compared to the 200,000 TWh we consume now. Nuclear can deliver that, for billions of years, for the smallest footprint.

TL;DR, the two takeaways are:

Set the narrative, don't be reactive. The latter will cost you time and energy to combat. With the former people will have to engage with you.

If humanity is to have a future, the future will have to be nuclear.

#Nuclear#NuclearEnergy#Degrowth#ClimateChange#EnergyTransition

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings suggested Monday that it plans to transfer spent nuclear fuel from its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to an interim storage facility in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/08/japan/tepco-move-mutsu/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #tepco #aomori #mutsu #fukushima #nuclearenergy

In Hokkaido, Indigenous land rights have added another layer to the division of opinions in Suttsu and Kamoenai over whether to host a permanent underground repository for Japan’s nuclear waste. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/07/06/energy/hokkaido-ainu-nuclear-waste-storage/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #environment #energy #nuclearenergy #energy #renewables #hokkaido #nuclearwaste #ainu #indigenouspeople

In Hokkaido, Indigenous land rights have added another layer to the division of opinions in Suttsu and Kamoenai over whether to host a permanent underground repository for Japan’s nuclear waste. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/07/06/energy/hokkaido-ainu-nuclear-waste-storage/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #environment #energy #nuclearenergy #energy #renewables #hokkaido #nuclearwaste #ainu #indigenouspeople

As data centers rapidly expand to meet surging AI-driven demand, their soaring electricity consumption largely due to cooling need is straining power systems and prompting tech giants to explore nuclear power solutions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/07/01/world/data-centers-southeast-asias-nuclear-dynamic/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #datacenters #southeastasia #nuclearenergy #ai #artificialintelligence #bigtech

Niigata Prefecture has held the first public hearing on the advisability of restarting reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/30/japan/niigata-hearing-nuclear-reactor-restart/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #nuclearenergy #tepco

While #nuclearenergy is not #fossil it not #green at all - but #colonial , #deadly & totally unfair because, like in AI, the #profits are being privatised, the costs are hitting the whole #society & the #planet

But from the point of view of someone believing in #cybernetics or one of its #TESCREAL grandchildren it is great - because in cybernetics EVERY problem will be solved in "the future" by "technology"

While #nuclearenergy is not #fossil it not #green at all - but #colonial , #deadly & totally unfair because, like in AI, the #profits are being privatised, the costs are hitting the whole #society & the #planet

But from the point of view of someone believing in #cybernetics or one of its #TESCREAL grandchildren it is great - because in cybernetics EVERY problem will be solved in "the future" by "technology"