TEPCO is decommissioning all six Fukushima Daiichi units under the government's Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap, targeting completion 30-40 years after the 2011 triple meltdown. Spent fuel removal from Unit 2's pool began on 2 June 2026 and trial fuel-debris retrieval began in 2024, but full-scale debris removal has slipped to 2037 at the earliest.
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Current state
| Status | Fuel removal |
| Country | Japan |
| Location | Okuma and Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Site | Fukushima Daiichi |
| Units | Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6 |
| Unit count | 6 |
| Reactor types | BWR |
| Owner / licensee | Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) |
| Strategy | Immediate dismantling |
| Final shutdown | 2014-01-31 |
| Decommissioning start | 2011-12 |
| Target completion | 2051 |
| Spent fuel | Unit 4 pool emptied December 2014 and Unit 3 February 2021; Unit 2 pool removal began 2 June 2026; Unit 1 removal due to start FY2027-28; roadmap target is all units' pools emptied within 2031. |
| Notable issue | Melted fuel debris retrieval: only gram-scale samples removed (Nov 2024, Apr 2025); full-scale retrieval delayed to 2037 or later. |
Notes
target completion 2051 = roadmap's 30-40 years from December 2011 (TEPCO says 30-40 years; 2051 is the commonly cited end-point, not stated verbatim on pages opened). The government's total Fukushima accident cost estimate is JPY 23.5 trillion (decommissioning + compensation + decontamination, per FoE Japan, March 2026); the decommissioning-only share is not separated here, so cost estimate not recorded.
Timeline
- 2011-03-11 — An earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns in Units 1-3 and hydrogen explosions. (source)
- 2011-12 — The government adopted the original Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap for decommissioning. (source)
- 2012-04-19 — Units 1-4 were permanently shut down. (source)
- 2014-01-31 — Units 5 and 6 were permanently shut down. (source)
- 2021-02 — All fuel was removed from the Unit 3 spent fuel pool. (source)
- 2024-09-10 — TEPCO began trial fuel debris retrieval at Unit 2. (source)
- 2025-07-29 — TEPCO said full-scale debris removal would start in 2037 at the earliest instead of the early 2030s. (source)
- 2026-06-02 — TEPCO began removing spent fuel from the Unit 2 pool. (source)
The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.
Related sites
- Biblis Nuclear Power Plant (Units A and B) Active dismantling · Germany
- Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant (KBR) Active dismantling · Germany
- Brunsbüttel Nuclear Power Plant (KKB) Active dismantling · Germany
- Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Fuel removal · Taiwan
- Chooz A Active dismantling · France
- Crystal River Unit 3 Site restoration · United States
- Doel Nuclear Power Plant (Units 1-3) Shut down · Belgium
- Dounreay (DFR and PFR fast reactors) Active dismantling · United Kingdom
See all 72 sites in the Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker →
Sources
- Roadmap on the Way to Decommissioning — TEPCO (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Status of Each Unit of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station — TEPCO (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Fuel Removal from Unit 2 Spent Fuel Pool — TEPCO (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Fuel debris removal from Fukushima reactors delayed — World Nuclear News, checked 2026-10-11
- Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi NPS Units 1-4 — METI (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- [Statement] 15 Years Since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster — FoE Japan, checked 2026-10-11
- Nuclear Power in Japan — World Nuclear Association, checked 2026-10-11