The state-backed Japan Atomic Energy Agency (Jaea) said last week it would have to spend roughly 1.9 trillion yen ($17.1 billion) to close 79 facilities over 70 years.
Total costs could increase further, as the agency said the estimated figure, which would be paid by taxpayers, excludes expenses for maintenance and replacing aging equipment, The Mainichi reported.
The Jaea plans to close more than half of the 79 nuclear facilities over the next decade due, in part, to the increased costs to operate them under stricter safety rules introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Kallanish Energy understands.
The agency, which has led nuclear energy research in Japan with its predecessors since the 1950s, owns 89 facilities.
Of the estimated costs, the expense for closing the nation’s first spent-fuel reprocessing plant in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture northeast of Tokyo, accounts for the largest chunk of 770 billion yen ($6.98 billion).
It will cost 150 billion yen ($1.36 billion) to decommission the trouble-plagued Monju prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactor, The Mainichi reported.
The agency said roughly 100 kiloliters (kl) (26,417 gallons) of high-level radioactive waste and up to 114,000 kl (30.11 million gallons) of low-level radioactive waste were estimated to have been produced, with disposal locations yet to be decided upon.
The Japanese government hopes to restart nuclear power plants after a nationwide halt following the nuclear crisis, despite persistent concern over the safety of atomic power generation.
