Spanish nuclear regulators have approved new post-Fukushima design modifications at the country's nuclear power plants, including final approvals for emergency management centres.

In the five-and-a-half years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, "steady progress" is being made in the decommissioning process and contaminated water management at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Hirotaka Ishihara, state minister of the cabinet office of Japan, told the International Atomic Energy Agency's 60th General Conference yesterday. Decontamination and environmental remediation are "moving forward" and the evacuation zones are "growing smaller", Ishihara said.

Japan Electric Power Development Corp has announced a further two-year delay in the construction of additional safety measures at unit 1 of the Ohma nuclear power plant, being built in Japan's Aomori prefecture. Construction of the unit is now expected to be completed in late 2023 or early 2024.

Kansai Electric Power Company has released a plan of safety improvement works it will carry out to extend the operating periods of units 1 and 2 of its Takahama nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukui prefecture beyond 40 years. Regulatory approval for operating the units for up to 60 years has already been granted.

Kyushu Electric Power Company has rejected a request from the governor of Japan's Kagoshima prefecture that operation of units 1 and 2 of the Sendai nuclear power plant be suspended immediately for safety checks. The company said it will continue operating the units until they enter routine scheduled outages later this year.

The recently-elected governor of Japan's Kagoshima prefecture has today requested Kyushu Electric Power Company temporarily suspends operation of units 1 and 2 of its Sendai nuclear power plant. Only one other power reactor is currently in operation in the country.

Unit 3 of the Ikata nuclear power plant in Japan's Ehime prefecture has reached 100% operating capacity, owner Shikoku Electric Power Company announced today. The unit is the fifth Japanese reactor to resume operation.

Shikoku Electric Power Company announced today that it had initiated the process to restart unit 3 of its Ikata nuclear power plant in Japan's Ehime prefecture. It becomes the fifth Japanese reactor to resume operation under new safety standards introduced following the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

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.

A regional court in Hannover has ruled that EOn is not entitled to €382 million ($426 million) in compensation it sought for the forced shut down of its Isar 1 and Unterweser nuclear power units in 2011.

A new handbook has been compiled with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency to better prepare medical staff to communicate with the public about possible health effects of radiation during and after a nuclear or radiological emergency.

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.