TOMARI: JAPAN'S NORTHERNMOST NUCLEAR COMMUNITY

UNCLAS SAPPORO 000030 DEPT FOR EAP/J, EEB/ESC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: JA ENRG ECON PGOV TRGY SUBJECT: TOMARI: JAPAN'S NORTHERNMOST NUCLEAR COMMUNITY ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. Sapporo Conoffs recently visited the town of Tomari, home to Hokkaido's only nuclear power facility. As a new nuclear reactor there that will be capable of burning mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel prepares to come online, the community continues to benefit from subsidies and special attention from the Government of Japan and the Hokkaido Electric Power Company. With aversion to nuclear power facilities at new sites a concern, Japanese planners instead look towards communities like Tomari with existing nuclear facilities for opportunities to build advanced reactors. Such communities tend to be more willing to accept financial incentives for new reactors, especially as subsidy levels on existing reactors decline. END SUMMARY. NUCLEAR POLITICS IN ACTION IN HOKKAIDO -------------- ¶2. (U) Nuclear power is a central part of the Government of Japan (GOJ)'s strategy for meeting Japan's growing energy needs while simultaneously reducing carbon dioxide emissions. A network of 53 conventional nuclear reactors currently supplies 30 percent of Japan's energy needs. Over the next few years, the GOJ plans to introduce plutonium-thermal power generation at new and existing reactors whereby mixed plutonium-uranium oxide fuel (MOX) will be burned for power generation. The use of MOX, which is made from reprocessed spent fuel, is a step towards a closed nuclear energy cycle since Japan will be able to recycle some nuclear waste material when producing MOX. ¶3. (U) In June 2009, Conoffs traveled two hours west of Sapporo to visit Hokkaido Electric Power Company's (HEPCO) Tomari nuclear power plant, one of up to 18 facilities nationwide designated by the GOJ for the future use of MOX fuel to generate electric power. Located in the coastal town of Tomari, the facility is the only nuclear power plant on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. Reactors No.1 and 2 there have been operational for two decades. HEPCO's Reactor No. 3, expected to come online in December 2009, is scheduled to begin burning MOX fuel in 2012. When the third reactor becomes fully operational, the three reactors combined will be able to supply about one-third of Hokkaido's total energy needs. (Note: By comparison, 11 coal/ oil burning plants and 53 hydroelectric plants respectively produce 67 percent and 12 percent of Hokkaido's current energy. End note.) ¶4. (U) While in Tomari, Conoffs met separately with Mayor Hiroomi Makino as well as HEPCO officials based at the Tomari nuclear plant. Plant officials also provided Conoffs with a tour of the plant's public relations center as well as a visit to all three reactors that featured explanations of the control rooms, the No. 3 Reactor's spent fuel pool, and the No. 2 and No. 3 turbine casings. The visit provided a useful snapshot of life in a Japanese community willing to accept the existence of a nuclear power plant in its midst. HOSTING A NUCLEAR PLANT PAYS OFF FOR LOCALS -------------- ¶5. (U) HEPCO's decision to construct a nuclear facility (and its actual 1989 completion) presented Tomari with an opportunity for economic revival. The town had been devastated after the 1964 closing of the local Kayanuma coal mine, which caused its population to drop from 10,000 to just 2,000 today. Fishing, Tomari's other major industry, was unable to sustain the town as overfishing and gradually warmer ocean waters led to smaller catches of salmon and mackerel. Without other economic options, Tomari agreed in 1968 to accept HEPCO's offer to construct a nuclear power plant. ¶6. (U) This decision led to a windfall in nuclear power plant-related subsidies for Tomari. According to Mayor Makino, Tomari has no need for the standard GOJ subsidies that other towns in Hokkaido receive thanks to special subsidies gained by hosting three nuclear reactors as well as additional property taxes paid by HEPCO. The town boasts an annual budget of at least three billion yen ($42 million USD),an amount unheard of in other similar-sized Hokkaido towns. This large inflow of funds has spurred the development of numerous amenities and benefits for Tomari's residents. These include free high speed internet access, free local cable television information access, a city-run digital television broadcasting antenna, and minimal rental fees at newly renovated community facilities, as well as cash payouts for significant personal life events such as marriage, births, home construction, and advanced age markers (turning 75, 90, 95, and 100). ¶7. (U) Tomari also has a state-of-the-art health clinic for its 2,000 residents that utilizes advanced medical equipment including CT scanning, X-rays, MRIs, and long-distance imaging consultation with medical experts in Sapporo. Mayor Makino proudly explained that his town's clinic is able to offer free health care to seniors at the age of 65, 10 years earlier than other Japanese communities. Residents needing more advanced care, however, are bused from Tomari to the nearest hospital 20 kilometers away in the town of Iwanai. KEEPING THE PLANT SECURE -- -------------- ¶8. (U) Despite the wealth that it brings to the community, the Tomari nuclear facility itself is hidden on the outskirts of town behind the base of a steep cliff on the Sea of Japan coast. To enter the nuclear plant's actual facility, visitors must travel downhill and progress through a number of gates and checkpoints. The newly-built third reactor has additional checkpoints. HEPCO plant officials explained that security has increased following the September 11th terrorist attacks and a series of small arson fires that occurred during construction of Reactor No. 3. ¶9. (U) The buildings housing the reactors themselves appeared to be modern and clean. Plant officials stated they were originally built to withstand seismic activity but have also been upgraded to apply building code changes introduced at nuclear plants across Japan after the 2007 Niigata earthquake. Reactors No. 1 and No.2 share a combined control room with equipment approximately twenty years old while Reactor No. 3's control room houses the latest digital monitoring equipment available. Approximately 400 total employees work at the Tomari nuclear plant. -- WHILE ALLEVIATING LOCAL SAFETY CONCERNS -------------- ¶10. (U) HEPCO has invested heavily in efforts to convince Tomari residents as well as the rest of Hokkaido's population that their nuclear facility is safe. A multi-million dollar public relations center built outside of the nuclear facility complex greets visitors passing through town on a stretch of highway built in part with HEPCO funds. The center offers family-oriented, interactive multimedia displays designed to teach visitors about both the safety of nuclear power in general and the Tomari nuclear plant specifically. The center's indoor swimming pool as well as its archeological exhibits of Jomon-era pottery excavated at the plant construction sites and climate-controlled, living ecosystem displays also attempt to offer recreational and expanded educational opportunities to local residents. ¶11. (U) Furthermore, HEPCO invites two separate committees to conduct regular safety inspections of the HEPCO Tomari facility. One committee, comprised of residents with no nuclear expertise from Tomari and other nearby towns, conducts general visits to the plant to provide local residents with visual confirmation that there are no problems at the nuclear facility. A second committee comprised of nuclear energy specialists travels from Sapporo to Tomari regularly to conduct scientifically-based safety inspections. The results of both committee inspections are made available to the Tomari Town Hall. HEPCO also conducts its own periodic inspections and shares the results with Tomari, the Hokkaido Prefectural Government and the Government of Japan. ¶12. (U) HEPCO employees hold regular emergency response drills at the Tomari nuclear facility. HEPCO also monitors readings from radiation detectors installed throughout the area. The Hokkaido prefectural government maintains a separate monitoring and response station across the street from the HEPCO public relations' center. In the event of a nuclear incident, an area encompassing a ten kilometer radius around the Tomari nuclear plant would be the focal point for disaster response teams. Tomari's mayor and HEPCO officials both told Conoffs that neither Tomari's health clinic nor the nearby Iwanai hospital are equipped to handle radiation poisoning or other radiation-related afflictions. In an emergency, victims would be airlifted by helicopter or driven two hours to hospitals in Sapporo. COMMENT -------------- ¶13. (U) The financial benefits and special attention garnished on the town of Tomari stand as testament to the lengths that the GOJ and Japanese energy companies will go to convince rural communities to accept the construction of nuclear power plants. The acceptance of a third reactor by Tomari citizens may also reflect the future of nuclear power plant construction in Japan. As not-in-my-backyard sentiments continue to discourage nuclear power plant construction at new sites, Japanese planners look towards existing nuclear facilities for opportunities to build new reactors. Communities like Tomari addicted to nuclear subsidies are more eager to accept new reactors for financial gain, especially as subsidy levels on existing reactors decline. This cable was cleared by Embassy Tokyo. WELTON