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The Japan Atomic Energy Agency is a Japanese atomic energy company. While it inherited the activities of both JNC and JAERI, it also inherited the nickname of JAERI, "Genken" 原研, an abbreviated word for "nuclear research". On April 10, 2007, JAEA officially joined the GNEP alliance. The other members in the alliance are
Areva Areva S.A. was a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power, active between 2001 and 2018. It was headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through t ...
, Washington Group International and BWX. It is expected that the experience gained from the Rokkasho centrifuge enrichment plant will be a key contribution from JAEA. On April 1, 2016, JAEA transferred some of its laboratories to the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), and the NIRS body was renamed to the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) which includes existing laboratories of the NIRS. In 2018 JAEA estimated it would need about 1.9 trillion yen ($17.1 billion) to decommission 79 facilities over 70 years.


Overview

*Establishment: October 2005 *Founding Law: The Japan Atomic Energy Agency Law () *Headquarters: Tokai-mura *Permanent Staff: 4386 people as of October 2005 *Board Chairman: 岡﨑俊雄 Inaugurated January 2007


Locations and facilities

The following is an incomplete list of its activities, sorted by location:


Tokai-mura facilities

JAEA has several facilities located in Tōkai,
Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
, which was the first center in Japan for nuclear research. Currently, JAEA has expanded to several other sites in the
Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
as well as all of Japan. *Tokai R&D Center () **Nuclear Science Research Institute () **Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories () *The Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex ( or J-PARC for short) houses many particle research facilities.


Tsuruga facilities

JAEA has another head base in Tsuruga,
Fukui Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...
. It is a
fast breeder reactor A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes. These reactors can be Nuclear fuel, fueled with more-commonly available isotopes of uranium and Isotopes of thorium, thorium, such as uranium-238 and t ...
center and a Research and Development (R&D) center.


Oarai R&D Center ()

This center is located in Ōarai,
Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
, close to, but not at the same site as Tokai-mura. It houses the Jōyō reactor, the Japan Materials Testing Reactor, the new
High-temperature engineering test reactor The high-temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR) is a graphite- moderated gas-cooled research reactor in Ōarai, Ibaraki, Japan operated by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. It uses long hexagonal fuel assemblies, unlike the competing pebbl ...
, an environmental reactivity monitoring center, and a children's museum.


Ningyo-toge Environmental Engineering Center (人形峠環境技術センター)

This is a small uranium refining and conversion plant, as well as a small centrifuge enrichment demonstration plant located in Kamisaibara,
Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...
. The center deals with front-end issues of the nuclear fuel cycle.


Aomori R&D Center (青森研究開発センター)

The Aomori Research and Development Center is spread out over
Rokkasho is a List of villages in Japan, village in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 9,845 in 4988 households, and a population density of 40 persons per km². The total area of the village is . Geography Rokkasho ...
,
Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
and Mutsu,
Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
. The Rokkasho site does work with fusion research, notably a fusion reactor design research institute, a particle accelerator, and a materials irradiation test facility. The facilities in Mutsu include a museum, an ocean monitoring facility, and radioactive waste management. JAEA also co-operates and provides support for the activities of Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited with their reprocessing facility and Uranium enrichment facility plans.


Horonobe Underground Research Center ()

The Horonobe URL carries out research and development on geoscientific study and on geological disposal for high-level radioactive waste. It is expected that this site will become Japan's national
Deep geological repository A deep geological repository is a way of storing hazardous or radioactive waste within a stable geologic environment, typically 200–1,000 m below the surface of the earth. It entails a combination of waste form, waste package, engineered seals ...
for nuclear waste. * Fugen


Tono Geoscience Center (東濃地科学センター)

This is located in
Tōnō is the southeastern portion of Gifu Prefecture in the Chūbu region of Japan. The Tōnō region received its name as a combination of the ''kanji'' for "east" (東) and "Mino" (美濃). The borders of this region are not officially set, but it ge ...
,
Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...
.


See also

* 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents * Fukushima I nuclear accidents *
Independent Administrative Institution An , or Independent Administrative Institution, is a type of legal corporation formulated by the Government of Japan under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies (Act no. 103 of 1999, revised in 2014). The independent age ...
* Japanese nuclear incidents * Japanese reaction to Fukushima I nuclear accidents *
List of Independent Administrative Institutions (Japan) List of Incorporated Administrative Agencies in Japan identifies a number of semi-official entities which operate independently from its bureaucracy. Each of the following were created pursuant the ''Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administ ...
*
Nuclear power in Japan Nuclear power generated 5.55% of Japan's electricity in 2023. The country's nuclear power industry was heavily influenced by the Fukushima accident, caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Before 2011, Japan was generating up to 30% of ...


References


External links


JAEA English Homepage
{{Authority control Nuclear technology organizations of Japan Research institutes in Japan Nuclear research institutes Independent Administrative Institutions of Japan Ibaraki Prefecture 2005 establishments in Japan