Japan expands Fukushima soil recycling project to Sendai, Saitama

The government has already reused the soil at 12 sites in Tokyo since July last year, including the prime minister’s office and other buildings in the Kasumigaseki district.Excluding demonstration projects in Fukushima prefecture, the expansion to the cities of Sendai and Saitama will mark the first reuse of the soil outside Tokyo.The government aims to further expand the soil’s reuse to other branch offices in Japan to reduce the total amount of soil that eventually needs to be dealt with.As of the end of July, about 14.46 million cubic metres (510 million cubic feet) of removed soil and other waste had been placed at an interim storage facility near the nuclear complex.The damaged Unit 1 reactor (back) and exhaust stack shared by the Unit 1 and 2 reactors are seen at the Fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-power-plant" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="59582" data-entity-type="location">Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on February 20, 2025. Photo: APThe Fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-power-plant" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="59582" data-entity-type="location">Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011, suffered fuel meltdowns at three of its nuclear reactors, releasing radiation into the atmosphere.