Japan pulls out of Vietnam nuclear project, complicating Hanoi’s power plans​

Reuters.com By Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen Updated December 8, 2025

Workers repair an electric grid in Hanoi
  • Summary
  • Timeline for Vietnam project too tight, Hanoi envoy says
  • Ties already strained over petrol motorbike ban hurting Honda
  • Demand surging from industry, expanding middle class
  • Extreme weather events also threatening supply

HANOI, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Japan has dropped out of plans to build a major nuclear power plant in Vietnam because the time frame is too tight, Japanese ambassador Naoki Ito told Reuters, potentially complicating Vietnam’s long-term strategy to avoid new power shortages.

Vietnam, home to large manufacturing operations for multinationals including Samsung and Apple, has faced major power blackouts as demand from its huge industrial sector and expanding middle class often outpaces supplies, strained by increasingly frequent extreme weather, such as droughts and typhoons.

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“The Japanese side is not in a position to implement the Ninh Thuan 2 project,” the ambassador to Vietnam said, referring to a plant with a planned capacity of 2 to 3.2 gigawatts. The project is part of Vietnam’s strategy to boost power generation capacity.

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Nuclear energy: Where China is getting with small modular and fusion reactors

On Oct. 13 of this year, the PRC state media outlet CPNN, reported that China is pulling ahead in advanced nuclear power technology development with the launch of the large-scale production “Hualong One” (also known as HPR1000). As it develops, China not only aims to tackle the transmission bottleneck in the south, but also to export to countries like Pakistan as the PRC’s “business card” to the world.

China’s dual goals of localization and export orientation have long defined its nuclear strategy. Led by state-owned giants such as the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), Beijing has invested heavily in domestic innovation while aggressively expanding into overseas markets. Beijing has sought to expand its reactor sales to markets such as Argentina and the United Kingdom, while also securing control over upstream uranium resources. CNNC’s 2019 acquisition of Namibia’s Rössing Uranium Mine, one of the world’s largest open-pit uranium operations, underscored China’s growing dominance across the nuclear value.

Beijing’s policy support for state-owned enterprises has enabled it to build a vertically integrated nuclear industry, driving rapid advances in small modular reactors (SMRs), fourth-generation technologies, and nuclear fusion research (the Artificial Sun). Furthermore, intensifying US–China competition is reshaping global nuclear exports and deepening the geopolitical risks of dependence on Chinese nuclear systems.

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Japan Struggles to Find a Site for Its High-Level Radioactive Waste

nippon.com Jan 15, 2025 Matsumoto Sōichi [Profile]

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan recently backed the further survey of two potential disposal sites for high-level radioactive waste in Hokkaidō. The government has struggled to convince municipalities to participate in review procedures, with a growing list of stakeholders calling for a new approach to the selection process.

A Three-Step Process

The Japanese government and nuclear power plant operators have long grappled with how to dispose of spent fuel and other high-level radioactive waste. Authorities finally settled on the approach of burying waste deep underground at facilities 300 or more meters below the surface. In 2002, NUMO, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, began hunting for a storage location by inviting municipalities to put themselves forward as candidate sites. To date, this “volunteer” policy has netted only three participants, the towns of Suttsu and Kamoenai in Hokkaidō and Genkai in Saga.

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Kết luận của Tổng Bí thư tại buổi làm việc với Viện Năng lượng Nguyên tử Việt Nam

Nangluongvietnam.vn 10:08 | 17/09/2025

 – Văn phòng Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng vừa có Thông báo số 321-TB/VPTW, ngày 13/9/2025, về Kết luận của Tổng Bí thư Tô Lâm tại buổi làm việc với Viện Năng lượng Nguyên tử Việt Nam (ngày 4/9/2025). Dưới đây là nguyên văn Thông báo Kết luận của Tổng Bí thư.

Ngày 4/9/2025, Tổng Bí thư Tô Lâm đã làm việc với Viện Năng lượng Nguyên tử Việt Nam (VINATOM) tại trụ sở của Viện.

Tham dự buổi làm việc có Thủ tướng Chính phủ Phạm Minh Chính; các Uỷ viên Bộ Chính trị: Nguyễn Duy Ngọc – Chủ nhiệm Uỷ ban Kiểm tra Trung ương, Phó Trưởng Ban Chỉ đạo Trung ương về phát triển khoa học, công nghệ, đổi mới sáng tạo và chuyển đổi số; Lương Tam Quang – Bộ trưởng Bộ Công an; Lê Minh Hoan – Uỷ viên Trung ương Đảng, Phó Chủ tịch Quốc hội.

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The US is on the cusp of a nuclear renaissance. One problem: Americans are terrified of the waste

By Ella Nilsen and Bill Weir, CNN Published 6:00 AM EST, Mon November 25, 2024

An array of containers storing nuclear waste sit at the decommissioned Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, New York.

An array of containers storing nuclear waste sit at the decommissioned Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, New York. Brian Vangor/HoltecBUCHANAN, New YorkCNN — 

The Indian Point nuclear power plant was an energy juggernaut for 50 years, generating a quarter of the electricity that powered New York City’s iconic, glowing skyline.

It is well into its decommissioning process after shutting down in 2021: The remaining waste of the radioactive fuel that once generated all of that power has been sealed inside more than 120 hulking metal and concrete canisters.

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The Nuclear Revival: How Nuclear Reactors Have Evolved

#CNAInsider We chart the evolution of nuclear power, from the first controlled chain reaction to today’s small, micro modular reactors and the pursuit of fusion. New designs are being tailored to meet the energy needs of remote communities, AI infrastructure, and climate-conscious cities.

The episode highlights how nuclear power is being adapted to local contexts, featuring China’s pebble-bed reactor, Finland’s underground district heating plant, and Indonesia’s floating nuclear concept. It also examines Westinghouse’s portable microreactor and the fusion research underway at ITER in France and KSTAR in South Korea. Engineers, scientists, and policy experts weigh in on how nuclear energy is being reimagined to deliver clean, reliable power in a rapidly changing world.

Indonesia’s Floating Nuclear Power Plant Plan To Power Thousands Of Its Islands

How Small Nuclear Reactors Are Transforming Power Grids In China & Finland

Solar and on-shore wind provide cheapest electricity and nuclear most expensive, CSIRO analysis shows

Estimates show small modular nuclear reactors would provide most expensive power and will not be available until 2030

Graham Readfearn @readfearnWed 20 Dec 2023 19.55 GMT TheGuardian

Electricity generated by solar and on-shore wind is the cheapest in Australia, even after the significant expense of integrating them into the power grid is factored in, according to new analysis from the CSIRO.

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UN atomic chief backs nuclear power at COP28 as world reckons with proliferation

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks with The Associated Press at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks with The Associated Press at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

BY JON GAMBRELLUpdated 7:34 AM GMT+7, December 1, 2023 AP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The world wants more nuclear energy as a means to fight climate change and supply an ever-growing demand for electricity, part of a generational shift in thinking on atomic power, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the comments in an interview with The Associated Press at the COP28 climate talks. He called the inclusion of nuclear power at the summit, where he said a major nuclear agreement was likely, showed just how far the formerly “taboo” subject had come decades after the disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

However, he acknowledged the challenge still posed for his agency in monitoring nuclear programs in countries, particularly in Iran after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

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No decision on use of nuclear energy yet, Singapore to keep options open

CNA.com

Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong says Singapore needs to build capabilities to understand advanced nuclear energy technologies.

No decision on use of nuclear energy yet, Singapore to keep options open
A view of a nuclear power plant. (Photo: AFP/Abdul Goni)

SINGAPORE: Singapore has not made any decision to deploy nuclear energy yet but must keep its options open and build expertise in the area, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said on Monday (Oct 23) during the Singapore International Energy Week. 

Mr Gan said on the first day of the annual event that Singapore was exploring low-carbon energy sources, including hydrogen and nuclear energy. 

The use of nuclear energy was one of three possible scenarios previously set out by Singapore in its Energy 2050 Committee Report released last year. The report identified nuclear energy as a potential power source to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, with this form of energy potentially able to supply about 10 per cent of the country’s needs. 

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Fukushima’s Nuclear Wastewaters Have Been Released. Now What?

34,303 views Oct 10, 2023 #Radioactive#CNAInsider#Japan

Japan has completed phase one of wastewater release from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster. Despite assurances from the government and IAEA representatives that the water’s radioactive particles, specifically Tritium, are not harmful, many in Japan and the region are not appeased.

Insight’s Genevieve Woo travels across Fukushima to find out what has happened since the release. She finds fishermen off the coast of Japan who are worried about their livelihoods. Meanwhile, China and Hong Kong seafood curbs continue. What repercussions will the wastewater have on Japan and its neighbours? What has happened one month after the water release? And does the data support further release of waters?

00:00 Introduction

01:30 Activists protest discharge of radioactive water

05:34 Treating radioactive wastewater before release

08:07 Fukushima’s fishermen unhappy

13:00 Impact on Fukushima’s tourism industry

17:59 People living near the plant react to the release

23:42 How much radiation is there really?

28:18 Distrust towards TEPCO and the Japanese government

35:08 China’s import ban on Japanese seafood

37:13 Does the rest of Japan have fears about the wastewater release?

42:41 Japan’s future nuclear power plans

=============== ABOUT THE SHOW: Insight investigates and analyses topical issues that impact Asia and the rest of the world.

Southeast Asia’s Clean Energy Transition: A Role for nuclear Power?

Edited by David Santoro & Carl Baker

Read & Download >>

TABLE OF CONTENTS


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
David Santoro & Carl Baker 1
1 INDONESIA POWER SECTOR
Elrika Hamdi 5
2 MALAYSIA ENERGY LANDSCAPE AND REQUIREMENTS 2022-2050
Sabar Hashim 19
3 MYANMAR’S ENERGY LANDSCAPE
Shwe Yee Oo 39
4 RE-ENERGIZING THE PHILIPPINES’ NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAM: OPPORTUNITIES
AND CHALLENGES
Julius Cesar Trajano 59
5 SINGAPORE’S ENERGY JOURNEY: NET-ZERO, NEW PERSPECTIVES & NUCLEAR?
Denise Cheong & Victor Nian 75
6 THAILAND’S ENERGY LANDSCAPE AND THE POTENTIAL ROLE AND PLACE OF
NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY
Doongnyapong Wongsawaeng 93
7 ENERGY LANDSCAPE AND REQUIREMENTS OF VIETNAM
Nguyen Nhi Dien 107
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 127

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Explainer: Why nuclear-powered France faces power outage risks

reuters.com Reuters

December 9, 20227:02 PM GMT+7Updated 8 months ago

Visit at EDF's Penly Nuclear Power Plant

[1/2]View of French utility EDF’s Penly Nuclear Power Plant in Petit-Caux, near Dieppe, France, December 9, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier Acquire Licensing Rights

  • Companies

PARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) – France is bracing for possible power outages in the coming days as falling temperatures push up demand while state-controlled nuclear group EDF struggles to bring more production on line.

WHY CAN’T FRANCE MEET DEMAND?

France is one of the most nuclear-powered countries in the world, typically producing over 70% of its electricity with its fleet of 56 reactors and providing about 15% of Europe’s total power through exports.

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The human cost of France’s nuclear tests in the Pacific

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UFe4tRMZ0Y

Al Jazeera English – 10-8-2023

For 30 years, France undertook nuclear testing in its Pacific territory, French Polynesia.

In recent years, investigations have revealed the effects of the tests were far greater than France has officially acknowledged.

A total of 193 nuclear tests were undertaken, including 41 atmospheric tests that exposed the local population and site workers to high levels of radiation.

Today, children across the Pacific islands are still dealing with the nuclear fallout.

Cancer and other developmental diseases plague new generations born after the last test in 1996.

101 East investigates the costs of France’s nuclear tests in French Polynesia.

The Day After Trinity – Documentary

The film tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967), the theoretical physicist who led the effort to build the first atomic bomb, tested in July 1945 at Trinity site in New Mexico.It features interviews with several Manhattan Project scientists, as well as newly declassified archival footage.

Part 1

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Europe’s most powerful nuclear reactor kicks off in Finland

By JARI TANNER

FILE - The turbine hall of the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto 3 'OL3' is pictured under construction in Eurajoki, south-western Finland, March 23, 2011. Finland’s much-delayed and costly new nuclear reactor, Europe's most powerful by production capacity, has completed a test phase lasting over a year and started regular output, boosting the Nordic country’s electricity self-sufficiency significantly. The Olkiluoto 3 reactor, which has 1,600-megawatt capacity, was connected into the Finnish national power grid in March 2022 and kicked off regular production on Sunday, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Lehtikuva, Antti Aimo-Koivisto, File)

FILE – The turbine hall of the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto 3 ‘OL3’ is pictured under construction in Eurajoki, south-western Finland, March 23, 2011. Finland’s much-delayed and costly new nuclear reactor, Europe’s most powerful by production capacity, has completed a test phase lasting over a year and started regular output, boosting the Nordic country’s electricity self-sufficiency significantly. The Olkiluoto 3 reactor, which has 1,600-megawatt capacity, was connected into the Finnish national power grid in March 2022 and kicked off regular production on Sunday, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Lehtikuva, Antti Aimo-Koivisto, File)

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s much-delayed and costly new nuclear reactor, Europe’s most powerful by production capacity, has completed a test phase lasting more than a year and started regular output, boosting the Nordic country’s electricity self-sufficiency significantly.

The Olkiluoto 3 reactor, which has 1,600-megawatt capacity, was connected into the Finnish national power grid in March 2022 and kicked off regular production on Sunday. Operator Teollisuuden Voima, or TVO, tweeted that “Olkiluoto 3 is now ready” after a delay of 14 years from the original plan.

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