Japan’s Chugoku Electric Power Company has filed an application with the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) for approval of its plan to decommission unit 1 at its Shimane NPP in Shimane prefecture. Chugoku Electric took an official decision to decommission the plant in April 2015. The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum said all decommissioning work is scheduled to be completed by fiscal year 2045, which runs from April 2045 to March 2046. Providing NRA approves the application, Chugoku Electric will begin decommissioning the 493MWe Shimane-1 (a boiling water reactor) in the current fiscal year, ending 31 March 2017. All 722 used fuel assemblies stored at the reactor site will be removed and transferred to a reprocessing facility before dismantling begins in 2030 or 2031. Five reactors in Japan have been designated by their operators for decommissioning – Shimane-1, units 1 and 2 at Kansai Electric Power Company's Mihama NPP; unit 1 at Japan Atomic Power Company's Tsuruga NPP; and unit 1 at Kyushu Electric Power Company's Genkai NPP.
