{
  "id": 17132551,
  "title": "Japan's last active university reactor battles to stay open",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/japans-last-active-university-reactor-battles-to-stay-open",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T22:00:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20261029/p2g/00m/0na/020000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A gauge on the control panel inched upward as students closely monitored a nuclear research facility in western Japan. One student declared they had reached criticality, eliciting applause from the group. Inside the Kindai University Reactor at Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture, about 20 students from Fukui University of Technology were learning to maintain a stable nuclear fission reaction.\n\nThe Kindai University Reactor, established in 1961 as Japan's first educational reactor, now stands as one of only two university reactors still operating in the country. Unlike typical reactors, it operates at zero power, producing just 1 watt of thermal output, less than a candle flame. The reactor's compact size, measuring 2 meters in height and 4 meters in diameter, ensures enhanced safety and eliminates the production of spent nuclear fuel.\n\nEstablished at universities nationwide, only two educational reactors remain today. The other, located at Kyoto University, recently halted operations, with resumption of training anticipated in the next fiscal year. Over 250 students participated in practical training at Kindai University in fiscal 2024, utilizing the reactor for various purposes, including cancer research and nuclear decommissioning experiments. Excluding inspections and maintenance, the reactor operates for approximately 130 days per year.\n\nDespite its high demand, maintaining the reactor incurs significant costs. Kindai University spends around 200 million yen annually on maintenance and security, while corporate usage fees and government subsidies cover only about 6 million yen in revenue, with the university compensating the shortfall from other income sources. Additionally, the reactor faces a major challenge in securing a fuel supply. Following concerns over potential diversion of highly enriched uranium fuel to nuclear weapons, the United States and Japanese authorities agreed in 2022 for the fuel's return. The reactor must now be modified to utilize low-enriched uranium fuel, with estimated costs in the tens of billions of yen.\n\nAs Japan's government has recently shifted its stance from reducing nuclear power dependence, following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, to increased utilization of nuclear technology, financial pressures mount. Meanwhile, fewer students are pursuing nuclear-related studies. Education ministry data reveals that 177 students enrolled in nuclear-related university departments and programs in fiscal 2024, representing only about 30 percent of the 579 recorded in fiscal 1994.\n\nProfessor Genichiro Wakabayashi of the Kindai institute emphasized the importance of hands-on experience with educational reactors in training future nuclear specialists. He cautioned that the loss of such reactors could force young individuals to pursue education and careers abroad. He urged greater governmental support to sustain the operation of these reactors. Environmental economist Shunji Matsuoka from Waseda University echoed Wakabayashi's concerns, stressing the value of practical reactor experience for developing professionals in commercial reactor operations and decommissioning efforts. Matsuoka stressed the need for universities to demonstrate transparent reactor operations, broaden societal understanding of reactor value, and cultivate nuclear specialists engaged in societal discourse.",
  "summary": "OSAKA (Kyodo) -- A gauge on the control panel crept upward as students watched closely inside a university nuclear research facility in western Japan.",
  "key_points": [
    "Kindai University Reactor, Japan's last active university reactor, battles to stay open.",
    "Established in 1961, it operates at zero power, producing 1 watt of thermal output.",
    "Annual maintenance costs exceed revenue, with the reactor facing fuel supply challenges."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}