Figure: A power outage occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the 18th. \Data picture

[Ta Kung Pao News]According to Kyodo News: Tokyo Electric Power Company of Japan said on the 18th that the high-voltage power panel circuit breaker of Unit 6 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant tripped, causing the pump that supplies cooling water to the spent fuel to stop operating for about 10 hours. TEPCO said that the spent fuel was in a fully cooled state, the accident did not cause a major impact, and the cause of the accident is being investigated.

Around 8:35 a.m. on the 18th, the circuit breaker of the high-voltage power supply panel of Unit 6 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant tripped, and the water pump that supplies cooling water to the spent fuel stopped operating. Almost at the same time, smoke came out of the underground floor of the turbine building of Unit 6, and the fire alarm sounded. Firefighters rushed to the scene, but after inspection, they did not find any fire and no one was injured. There were 1,280 spent fuels and about 200 new fuels in the fuel pool of Unit 6. The water pump resumed operation around 6:20 p.m. TEPCO is investigating the connection between the trip and the fire.

On the 17th, victims of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and related groups demonstrated near the Supreme Court of Japan to protest the court’s ruling that the Japanese government does not need to bear compensation liability. Since 2013, victims of the Fukushima nuclear accident who have taken refuge in various parts of Japan have launched a number of class action lawsuits, demanding that the Japanese government and TEPCO be held responsible for the nuclear accident and make compensation. On June 17, 2022, the Supreme Court of Japan ruled on four of the class action lawsuits, finding that the Japanese government does not need to bear responsibility. Demonstrators criticized the Japanese government for not reflecting at all and expressed their firm opposition to the authorities’ decision to discharge nuclear wastewater into the sea.