translated from Japanese

Infographics: Fifteen Years Since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

As memories of the Fukushima nuclear disaster fade and Japan turns again toward nuclear power, FoE Japan offers a visual guide to the accident’s enduring damage, the shifts in policy, and the obscured realities of nuclear costs, fuel, and waste.

「図でみる:福島第一原発事故から15年」発行―豊富な図で事故被害と原発の状況を徹底解説、15年を振り返る年表も収録
FoE Japan · By 満田夏花 · 25 February 2026 · read the original in Japanese →

Nearly fifteen years are about to pass since the nuclear accident. While the number of people with no memory of the disaster grows, the erosion of memory has become a serious problem even among the generations who lived through it. At present, fifteen nuclear reactors have been restarted in Japan, and the country is reaching a major turning point, with publicly funded loan schemes for new construction and expansion also under consideration. Yet the realities of nuclear power, including the cost of building plants, the mining and processing of uranium fuel, and the fate of spent nuclear fuel, can hardly be said to be widely known.

FoE Japan has now published a booklet that organizes the complex information surrounding nuclear power and energy, using a wealth of charts and photographs to present the damage caused by the accident, changes in policy, and trends in nuclear power in Japan and abroad. We hope this volume will be used as material for thinking about the future of energy.

A4 format, 32 pages, color. Print edition: 500 yen per copy, postage not included. PDF edition: free. Cover illustration: Kunihiro Suzuki. *Print copies will be shipped sequentially from March 6. Please contact us if your order is urgent.

■ Three Features■ 3つの特徴

- Visual understanding through “26 richly detailed diagrams.” Using 26 diagrams, the booklet offers an intuitive explanation of matters difficult to convey through words alone, such as the realities of radioactive contamination and the cost structure of nuclear power. Readers can grasp the current situation visually.

- Includes a “detailed chronology” that fills in the blank fifteen years. Covering the fifteen years from the outbreak of the accident to the present, this highly documentary chronology allows readers to review at a glance the course of those years, from the responses of the government and operators after the accident to citizens’ movements, lawsuits, and shifts in policy.

- Reveals the rarely discussed underside of “costs and fuel.” The booklet delves into the surprisingly little-known “back side” of nuclear power: enormous construction costs and investments, the sources of uranium fuel, and the problem of “nuclear waste,” for which no solution is in sight.

Table of Contents: Chronology: Fifteen Years Since the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. Part I. The Nuclear Accident and the Damage Today - 01 The Spread of Radioactive Materials - 02 Radioactive Materials Deposited in Soil - 03 Changes in Evacuation Zones - 04 Changes in the Number of Residents in Former Evacuation-Order Zones - 05 How Many Evacuees Are There?

- 06 Ocean Discharge of ALPS-Treated Contaminated Water - 07 Thyroid Cancer - 08 The Current State of “Decommissioning.” Part II. Nuclear Power and Energy - 09 Operating Status of Nuclear Power Plants in Japan - 10 Operating Status of Nuclear Power Plants Worldwide and Nuclear Disasters - 11 Where Does Uranium Fuel Come From?

- 12 Global Trends in Power Generation Costs - 13 What Are the Construction Costs of Recently Started Nuclear Power Plants?

- 14 Trends in Global Nuclear Power Generation and Years in Operation - 15 Trends in Investment in Renewables and Nuclear Power - 16 The Fate of “Nuclear Waste” - 17 Subsidies to Nuclear Plant Host Communities - 18 Electricity Generation by Power Source and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Generation - 19 The Reality of “Next-Generation Innovative Reactors.” How to Order. *Print edition price: 500 yen per copy, postage not included.

*Bulk-purchase discounts: 20 or more copies, 5% off; 30 or more copies, 10% off; 40 or more copies, 20% off; 50 or more copies, 30% off. *Postage: 1-9 copies, 200 yen; 10 copies, 430 yen; more than that, 1,000 yen.

How to order: Please place your order through the FoE Store. Alternatively, by fax or inquiry form, please use the subject line “Illustrated Guide: Fifteen Years Since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident” and provide 1. your name, 2. postal code, 3. address, 4. telephone number, and 5. number of copies. Fax: 03-6909-5986. *Shipments are scheduled to begin sequentially on March 6, 2026. Please contact us if your order is urgent.

[Request for Donations]【ご寄付のお願い】

With the support of all of you, FoE Japan continues its activities, including analysis and dissemination of information on nuclear and energy policy, advocacy directed at the government and Diet members, and the implementation of the Fukushima Pokapoka Project. If you are able, we would be grateful if you would consider making a donation.

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