Japan to Invest 100 Trillion Won in U.S. Small Modular Reactors

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported on June 12 that Japan has decided to build nuclear power plants in the United States, utilizing $550 billion (approximately 836.495 trillion won) in U.S.-bound investment funds as part of last year’s U.S.-Japan trade agreement. The maximum planned investment is $65 billion (approximately 98.8455 trillion won).

Earlier this month, Howard Lutnik, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, began online consultations. A senior U.S. government official stated that final negotiations are underway for Japan to invest up to $40 billion in small modular reactors (SMRs) promoted by GE Vernova of the U.S. and Hitachi, Ltd. of Japan. According to a Japanese negotiator, Japan is also considering investing up to $25 billion in the SMRs of U.S. startup NuScale Power. If realized, Japan’s total investment in the U.S. nuclear power sector would reach as much as $65 billion. The first groundbreaking is scheduled to take place in Tennessee, and the U.S. government has already initiated the SMR licensing process. Nikkei reported that this SMR investment is expected to be included in the second and third rounds of U.S.-bound investments to be officially announced after this summer.

Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Photo by UPI

Due to the large-scale expansion of data centers, U.S. electricity consumption has tripled over the past decade, prompting the country to resume nuclear power development, which had been virtually halted since the Three Mile Island accident. U.S. President Donald Trump has set a goal to quadruple the nation’s nuclear power generation capacity by 2050. Given that 90 percent of large-scale nuclear plants started globally over the past decade are Chinese or Russian, this is interpreted as a strategy to regain industrial leadership with allied nations. SMRs offer smaller output than large nuclear plants but can be mass-produced and installed near data centers, providing significant advantages.

In an interview with Nikkei, Secretary Lutnik stated, "The United States needs more power due to the launch of new data centers and the growth of the semiconductor industry. Nuclear power presents excellent investment opportunities, which will benefit the long-term interests of both the U.S. and Japan." He added, "The U.S. and Japan will build a supply chain for large-scale SMR construction within the United States, and this will be a great opportunity to export the technology globally. We aim to lead the world in the small reactor business."

However, Japan is concerned about liability for damages in the event of an accident at a nuclear plant it invested in within the United States. A senior U.S. government official clarified, "This is a U.S. nuclear power project, and Japan has absolutely no liability for compensation. We will address Japan’s concerns during the final negotiation process."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.