Japan, UK strengthen cooperation for nuclear supply chain

The UK-Japan Supply Chain Partnership Project will allow future alliances involving nuclear energy

Japan and United Kingdom have extended their cooperation under the UK-Japan Supply Chain Partnership Project.

The coalition aims to gather knowledge and techniques amongst industries involved in nuclear fields and support business partnerships in the future.

Ambassadors from the two countries, including 16 British and Japanese companies and 148 interested parties from both countries, participated in three online meetings held between January and February 2024.

Japan said that it has "much to learn" from the UK in areas around advanced nuclear technology, including decommissioning, waste management, and small modular reactors (SMRs).

British ambassador Julia Longbottom meanwhile stressed that the UK would like to deepen their existing partnership with Japan, particularly in the development of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) and the decommissioning at Fukushima Daiichi.

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One of the participating British companies, Jacobs, made an agreement with the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) for the decommissioning project at Fukushima Daiichi. Jacobs will make use of its experience of the reprocessing plant at Sellafield in the UK.

At another meeting, Japan's Okano Valve Mfg. Co. has shared its growing business in developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America.

“As a specialized manufacturer, we can provide high-quality products with which industries in the UK will be more than satisfied,” a representative of Japan’s Okano Valve Mfg. Co. said.

Okano hold an 80% domestic share for boiling water reactor (BWR) valves in Japan.