Japan appears eager to restart more nuclear reactors that were shut down after the Fukushima disaster, but many plant workers at the power companies have no experience operating such equipment.

The nation’s fleet of 54 reactors were shut down following the triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

In the nearly 13 years since then, only a dozen reactors have been brought back online.

Tougher safety standards have delayed the resumption of reactor operations.

And many plant operators hired over this period have yet to actually work with a running reactor.

An Asahi Shimbun study found that between 33 percent and 58 percent of nuclear plant operators at seven electric power companies have no experience in running a reactor, let alone dealing with a nuclear emergency.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is seeking the resumption of operations of 25 to 28 reactors by 2030, more than double the current number.

He has said nuclear energy will help Japan avoid the higher costs of fossil fuels and reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions amid growing global calls for decarbonized economies.

Public misgivings remain strong about restarting reactors in a country prone to earthquakes and tsunami.

Experts on reactor safety also say the lack of experience at nuclear plants further complicates matters.

“It is highly likely that reactors and their components at aging nuclear plants have deteriorated since they first went into operation,” said Masashi Goto, a former Toshiba Corp. engineer who was involved in designing nuclear reactors. “If those old reactors are brought online when inexperienced operators have had few opportunities to become familiar with their operations, the risks of an accident would surge.”

One of the reactors that Goto helped design is located at TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture.

The industry watchdog Nuclear Regulation Authority introduced more stringent reactor safety standards in 2013 for natural disasters, severe accidents and terrorist attacks.
Utilities have since applied for restarts of 27 reactors at 16 nuclear power plants.

Three utilities--Kansai Electric Power Co., Shikoku Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co.--have received the NRA’s approval to bring a combined 12 reactors online.
Plant workers at these three companies can gain practical experience in reactor operations.

But the story is different at TEPCO and five other regional utilities--Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Tohoku Electric Power Co., Chubu Electric Power Co., Hokuriku Electric Power Co. and Chugoku Electric Power Co.-- as well as Japan Atomic Power Co., which specializes in nuclear power generation.

Their units remain offline largely because of problems exposed in the NRA’s safety reviews.

“It is difficult to estimate how long it will take until their reactors can go back online,” an NRA official said.

The delays have led to significant implications for the labor situations at the electric power companies. Veteran workers continue to retire and are being replaced by young hires with no reactor experience.

At Hokkaido Electric, 51 percent of its 162 plant operators have zero experience in running reactors in service, according to the Asahi study, which was conducted in November and December.

Hokkaido Electric’s Tomari nuclear plant has three reactors. The NRA’s inspections of the three reactors have been delayed because Hokkaido Electric has dragged its feet in validating its claim that a seismic fault running below the plant is not active.

The nuclear regulator is now examining whether Hokkaido Electric’s anti-tsunami and other safety measures are adequate.

“We are striving to bring the reactors online by transferring the experienced operators’ skills to younger workers,” a Hokkaido Electric official said.

TEPCO has an army of about 250 plant operators, but 36 percent of them have no hands-on experience.

All 10 reactors at its Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants are being decommissioned. TEPCO is seeking an early restart of two reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.

But its measures against a potential terror attack on the site were found faulty, and other glitches were discovered.

A TEPCO official said its is a challenge getting new operators familiar with their jobs when they have no access to reactors in service.

“The share of employees who joined the company after the Fukushima disaster is increasing,” the official said. “Under these circumstances, we need to address the issue of how to share skills and pass on knowledge among operators.”

At Japan Atomic Power, 36 percent of its 128 plant operators have no firsthand experience with reactors.

The company is seeking to reactivate one reactor in Ibaraki Prefecture and another one in Fukui Prefecture.

A Japan Atomic Power official said the increasing number of inexperienced operators is “concerning.”

“It typically takes an operator 10 years to become sufficiently skilled and knowledgeable even when they have opportunities to work with an operational reactor,” the official said.

Chugoku Electric has the highest ratio of such “rookie” employees. Of its 93 plant operators, 58 percent have no firsthand experience.

“The percentage surged because many veteran operators retired and new operators fresh from school joined the workforce,” a company representative said.

Electric power companies are trying to cope with the issue by sending inexperienced workers to other utilities with active reactors for onsite training. Other young workers are loaned to affiliates in charge of reactor maintenance and safety checkups where they can gain some experience.

A training session using a simulator is also an option.

Japan Atomic Power, which plans to reactivate a reactor at its Tsuruga nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, opened a training center in Tsuruga in 2012. It can be used by workers from electric utilities.

The training center has a simulated reactor central control room where trainees can learn how to operate and respond to problems.

More than 13,000 workers have taken part in training sessions there.

Akira Yamaguchi, a nuclear engineer and director of the Nuclear Safety Research Association, a public interest incorporated foundation focusing on safety issues of nuclear reactors, said training with a realistic simulator is effective in helping operators “retain knowledge.”

But he said real emergencies require a response gained from longtime experiences with reactor conditions, noises, temperatures and other information.