In late May of 2024 we were honored to participate in a nuclear energy workshop hosted by the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, along with ERIA, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. The theme of the event was “Stakeholder Involvement,” and the events included focused tours and discussions in an energy producing region as well as an energy consuming region. 

Our team started with a visit to the Genkai nuclear power plant, where we found two operating pressurized water reactors tucked into a quaint seaside village in the south of Japan. The surrounding landscape featured terraced rice fields overlooking the verdant hills and island-dotted sea. Ancestral homes dotted along a craggy coastline painted the picture of a life connected to the land and steeped in tradition. When our guides later expressed that the region was trying to figure out how to attract more tourists, it seemed almost funny that this question wasn’t immediately answered when taking in the view. 

One step inside the Genkai Energy Park and we were transported to a cross between a science fair and Disneyland. The center featured interactive video games for kids (picture Dance Dance Revolution… only about energy), and a multi-level energy education experience centered around a full size mockup and cutout of a reactor vessel - a center that was truly above and beyond anything I had seen before. On the top level, sweeping views of the coastline showed giant wind turbines alongside the nuclear plant facility, revealing a region focused on producing electricity to help power the lives of Japan’s 124 million people.

We were honored to attend a presentation hosted by the General Manager of the Genkai Nuclear Power Station, along with the Deputy Head of the Environmental and Public Relations Group, where they gave us an overview of the site’s history and the decommissioning of the Units 1 and 2 reactors alongside operation of two 1180 MW Mitsubishi Pressurized Water Reactors. The power generated on that small site provides much needed electricity for the region as well as population centers, such as Osaka, where we later ended our journey. 

While we listened to their presentation and viewed the materials, a few points stuck out to me. Firstly, they had spent around one-and-a-half times the cost of initial construction on post-Fukushima safety upgrades, a staggering sum. Even still, the total cost of construction and upgrades was below a comparable build in the United States, and coupled with reliable operation would provide low cost electricity to customers. Secondly, we learned that public engagement is an ongoing commitment and part of the station’s core business. For example, plant employees engage one-on-one with each member of the local community at least once a year to provide information and listen to their concerns. While it is a small community, this is still an impressive and laudable outreach effort. 

One thing that got me thinking while sitting in that room is still turning around in my head weeks later - an overwhelming focus on the machines, the technology, and the robust new construction to provide assurance to the regulator and community that the plant is operated safely. This was impressive and certainly appropriate, especially given the Fukushima Daiichi accident only 13 years ago. Even so, a question slowly grew as I viewed slide after slide of safety features - “what about the people?” 

Something that I appreciate more and more the longer that I work at a nuclear power plant and grow roots in the surrounding community is the importance of the team that operates the machines. Humans have used science and technology to achieve amazing breakthroughs and advances that have improved our lives, and nuclear technology is a prime example. Through the power of the humble atom, we can have a reliable electricity source that produces no air pollution or carbon emissions on a modest land footprint, saving more room for nature to thrive. It is a beautiful reality that we humans can harness the hidden power of the elements given to us in the very formation of our planet to power our lives without destroying the planet’s resources. But science alone doesn’t make this technology happen and keep it safe for our communities, it is the people who devote their minds and efforts to orchestrate the dance of machines, nature, and procedure to caretake this technology. As an engineer, I came away impressed by their machines; but as a mother and community member, I came away hoping that nuclear communicators remain sensitive and even reverent to the global nuclear industry’s greatest asset, the people. 

People around the planet are reconsidering nuclear energy as our planet continues to warm and our best efforts to contain greenhouse gas emissions continue to fall woefully short of targets. At COP28 in 2023, more than 20 nations committed to triple nuclear capacity by 2050, in a powerful admission that nuclear energy is needed in our global efforts to take meaningful actions on carbon reduction. The science is clear, but public acceptance is struggling to keep up. It is no wonder why, with a quick rewind through the lowlights of nuclear technology history - weapons, lack of consent, misinformation, public fear, accidents and poor response - a soup mixed up in our minds that has left a bitter taste for many. This history can’t be erased, and maybe we shouldn’t wish it all so, for with it would go the advancements that have emerged from our global imperative to be excellent stewards of this technology and to never repeat our failures. 

In short, “follow the science” isn’t enough, although it’s an easy crutch for the engineers and scientists among us. Too often this myopic perspective lends to forgetting who advances the science and implements the engineering, who votes to fund it, and who allows it in their communities. While the global nuclear industry continues to innovate and advance in operational excellence, I think it’s time for us to consider how we can advance our people - both developing the nuclear industry’s human capital along with pursuing excellence in stakeholder engagement. As we work towards a clean energy future, nuclear needs more attention to supporting diverse perspectives and engagement inside the industry, coupled with new and innovative approaches in public engagement. 

The human element was clear in the day’s later visit to the local Genkai school, an impressive educational center by the sea filled with its own sea of darling little smiling faces. The open architecture streamed natural light into the well-equipped classrooms and featured a library so cozy that I felt the urge to curl up with a book. Both Heather and I felt an immediate draw as we witnessed their lunch routine featuring real bowls and chopsticks, composting, toothbrushing, and minimal trash production - an endearing and hope-inspiring nod to our values of conservation and stewardship. Not only are the students receiving an academic education, they are also learning to be mindful users of our planet’s resources. The story behind the story here is that funding from operation of the local nuclear plant enables a top-level educational experience for local children in an area that wouldn’t otherwise be able to provide these resources. Speaking with local community leaders and school administrators affirmed that coexistence with their nuclear neighbor was one of mutual benefit, and necessarily dependent on transparency and open communication. 

In the following days, we traveled to Osaka to meet with business and industry leaders to hear their input on nuclear energy from the perspective of a power-consuming area. The global perspectives from participants from the UK and Finland, along with thoughtful questions from ASEAN and East Asian countries confirmed the value and necessity of communication between nuclear operators, their communities, and the public at large. The perspective of participants from ASEAN and East Asian countries reminded listeners that there are many countries hungry for ways to power their societies in ways that are clean and affordable. Japan is also seeking to reduce reliance on foreign energy sources, as a significant portion of their national wealth is being sent overseas to import oil and gas to feed their hungry fossil-fueled power sources which took the majority of the load after their nuclear plants were closed following the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Japan’s energy conversation is more honest and focused than that in the west, as their experience has clearly shown the economic consequences of moving away from nuclear. As Japan continues to reinvest in their nuclear industry and bring more balance to their energy mix, this conversation was a chance to reflect on the importance of diversity in energy sources as well as diversity of people enabling those sources. 

These workshops were a few short days filled with a year’s worth of learning and thought-provoking experiences. The synthesis of power production, energy education, and community was a perfect medium for reflection on how we can move forward using technology for humanity, with their consent, and for their benefit. It is possible and necessary to do all of these things with nuclear. As Heather and I have been saying since we founded Mothers for Nuclear in 2016, nuclear energy has a good story to tell, but we need to get better at telling it.

-Kristin