TOKYO — Long dependent on domestic appetite, Japan’s nuclear technology companies are increasingly looking to overseas markets, hopeful that foreign governments trust their reliability and safety claims in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
Despite public criticism, new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has so far answered the conglomerates’ call for support as they try to strike deals with countries such as Vietnam, Jordan and Lithuania. Noda met last month with Vietnamese leader Nguyen Tan Dung to reaffirm a $13 billion deal in which Japan will build two plants for the energy-hungry nation, even extending low-interest loans for the purchase.
By questioning its own reliance on nuclear power while endorsing its nuclear export efforts, Japan, with 54 seaside reactors ringing the country, finds itself pulled by contradictory claims. A majority of Japanese say nuclear power is no longer safe. But the government said the nation’s technology remains the world’s safest - or at least will be, as the country studies the Fukushima disaster, in which three meltdowns forced the displacement of some 100,000 residents.
But the Japanese government’s stance also reinforces the powerful role of industrial heavyweights - particularly Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - the technology of which can add billions to a sputtering economy. Though Japan has yet to conclude its government investigation into the Fukushima accident - a probe that will lead to new safety guidelines - those industrial conglomerates are racing to finalize deals by highlighting the safety changes they’ve already made.
Only Toshiba and Hitachi had a hand in building the Fukushima reactors, but for all three manufacturers the recent months have served as a gauge for global confidence in Japanese technology. Hitachi executives said they lost several deals in the wake of Fukushima. And Toshiba, along with its partner, the Tokyo Electric Power Co., pulled out of the bidding for a deal in Turkey.
But the nuclear technology companies said they think the setback will be modest, at most. Hitachi, even before the March 11 disaster, had outlined a plan to construct 38 overseas plants by 2030.Because of the nuclear crisis, Hitachi nuclear power systems Chief Executive Officer Masaharu Hanyu said, “we are now thinking that target might be a little bit delayed.” But Hitachi has not formally lowered its target.
The Japanese companies have found that much of theworld still wants nuclear power. Germany has decided to phase out its nuclear plants by 2022, and Italy recently voted against the construction of new nuclear reactors. But Asian and Middle Eastern countries still have plans for major nuclear projects; China alone has some 26 reactors under construction.
“I really don’t think Fukushima poses a threat to our negotiations,” Hanyu said. “In terms of energy security and mitigating carbon emissions, there is still major demand.”
Within weeks of the crisis at Fukushima, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries sent its executives across the globe to issue reassurances about pending deals. Mitsubishi in particular targeted Lithuania, which had closed its last Soviet-style nuclear reactor in 2009. Since then, the country has been forced to import most of its power. Electricity prices rose. Its government wanted a new 1, 300-megawattreactor, which is more powerful than the older Fukushima Daiichi, but on a par with modern standards.
Hanyu flew to Lithuania in June. He and other company officials talked about new safety measures, including changes in the backup power system. One month later, the Lithuanian government signed an agreement with Hitachi, which had partnered with U.S.-based General Electric Co.
“The Lithuanian negotiations were really important to us,” Hanyu said. “We wanted them to know that we are indeed learning from Fukushima Daiichi. If they had been wary, they would not have picked us.”
Domestically, Japan hasn’t decided whether it will cancel all plans for new nuclear power plants or merely curb its ambitions. Before the Fukushima accident, Japan had planned to build 14 new reactors by 2030, with nuclearpower accounting for half of the country’s electricity. But public sentiment has turned against nuclear power and the previous prime minister, Naoto Kan, who left office two months ago, favored a phase-out of nuclear reactors. He also showed little support for nuclear export efforts.
Noda’s support for nuclear exports comes, in part, from a desire to maintain influence. Nuclear nations have more authority in global non-proliferation talks. Heavy exporting also gives the industrial companies a major reason to maintain their technology, rather than letting it grow outdated.
“We have to keep up with having modern blueprints for nuclear plants,” said Shigero Masamori, general manager of nuclear energy systems for Mitsubishi Heavy.
Information for this article was contributed by Ayako Mie of The Washington Post.
Business, Pages 67 on 11/20/2011