ATENA held its seventh "ATENA Forum 2025" on February 13, 2025. The event was organized as a hybrid event that combines onsite attendance and online distribution using ZOOM Webinar.
About 450 people attended the event at the venue or online, including participants from ATENA member organizations such as nuclear operators, manufacturers and nuclear industry organizations, Government offices such as the Nuclear Regulation Authority and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, local governments, media, and the general public.
Date and time： 4:00 pm to 5:50 pm JST, Thursday, February 13, 2025
Form of Event： Hybrid event that combines onsite attendance and online distribution using ZOOM Webinar
Program
- 1．Opening Remarks
- 2．Greeting message
- 3．Keynote Speech
- 4．Panel Discussion
- 5．Closing remarks
- Program and Presentation Materials for ATENA Forum 2025:Click here
1．Opening Remarks（Hiroto Uozumi, President & CEO, ATENA）
Mr. Uozumi made opening remarks for "ATENA Forum 2025."
(5 min 53 sec)
2．Greeting message（Commissioner Tomoyuki Sugiyama, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, Japan）
Commissioner Sugiyama commented on the long-term facility management plan to be enacted in June of this year, stating, "Reviews are generally progressing well. In the long-term, we will need to coordinate with other systems, such as the periodic safety reviews and safety analysis reports." He also referred to strengthening NRA's relationship with operators that will be included in the next medium-term targets. He noted, "The NRA approved an operator proposal on a field demonstration of online maintenance. I hope this will be a big step in this [strengthening the relationship with operators]." As for ATENA, he stated, "I look forward to seeing ATENA, as a representative of operators and manufacturers, become a counterpart for the NRA."
（9 min 16 sec）
3．Keynote speech（OECD/NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV）
Director-General William D. Magwood, IV gave a keynote speech titled "Next-generation Nuclear Energy: Innovation, Progress and Challenges". He noted, "If we successfully apply AI, advanced manufacturing, digital twin and other technologies, we can see nuclear become efficient technology." Regarding the introduction of new technology, he said, "We don't have time to think about this for next ten years. We have to move right now. The role of ATENA would be absolutely essential."
（12 min 5 sec）
4．Panel discussion
- Theme：
- To promote the introduction of advanced/innovative technologies in nuclear power
- Moderator：
- Noriko Endo,
Professor, Research Council, Waseda University - Panelists：
- Toshihiko Fukuda,
Executive Vice President, Chief Nuclear Officer, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.
Yurugi Kanzaki,
General Manager, Nuclear Energy Systems, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
William D. Magwood, IV,
Director-General, OECD/NEA
Takumi Saito,
Professor, Nuclear Professional School, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Tomoyuki Sugiyama,
Commissioner, The Nuclear Regulation Authority, Japan
Yoshihiro Tomioka,
Director, ATENA
The moderator, Noriko Endo, facilitated discussions on the topic of promoting the introduction of advanced/innovative technologies in nuclear power, focusing on the following points.
(1) Benefits of introducing advanced/innovative technologies and challenges to be addressed
(2) Role of each stakeholder in resolving the challenges
（1 hour 8 minutes 30 seconds）
Panelists shared the following insights and advice, expressing high expectations for ATENA and the regulatory authority.
"Talking about a lot of new technologies, it is important to have more harmonization globally, particularly in regulatory side. If we take a country by country approach, different regulations and different standards will make it very difficult for these technologies to be successful. I think harmonization particularly in regulatory community would bring big difference."(William D. Magwood, IV ）
"We, the regulators, encourage the adoption of new technologies. But it also has a responsibility to the public to guarantee that safety is secured. In previous cases, operators' explanations were often insufficient. We will continue to require operators to provide the public with sufficient explanations. New technology can only be introduced upon this foundation. (Tomoyuki Sugiyama)
"Reducing financial risk needs to be discussed with government mechanisms and systems in mind. In regards to securing regulatory predictability, we want to think about the future of regulation from an early stage and keep an open line of communication." (Toshihiko Fukuda)
"We look forward to increasing information sharing through ATENA, which is the NRA counterpart, as the adoption of new technology will not be permitted if explanations are insufficient." (Yurugi Kanzaki)
"I think the industry is too timid in discussing with the regulators. If the technology is truly safe, then it could be considered negligence not to introduce it. Operators should be actively advocating for introducing them. Introducing new technologies is an investment into a sustainable future. The regulators should also actively be looking to introduce new technologies. Data on technologies is a common asset that ideally could be a point of contact for both sides." (Takumi Saito)
"Using unverified technology can reduce safety but overthinking it and being reluctant can also reduce safety as well as the value of nuclear power. There needs to be a proactive attitude of using good technologies. The private sector, public sector, and academia need to communicate and cooperate to enhance this attitude." (Yoshihiro Tomioka)
Finally, Noriko Endo summarized the discussions in this panel discussion with the words, "ATENA's mission is to facilitate harmonization. It needs to be more active than ever. I hope that harmonization will spread, with parties keeping in mind that new technologies can improve safety and economic efficiency to enrich the lives of the people.
5．Closing remarks（Taku Sato, Director, ATENA）
Mr. Sato delivered closing remarks for "ATENA Forum 2025."
（3 minutes 44 seconds）
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