Two government-affiliated bodies plan to resume financial support for Japanese companies’ nuclear power plant exports in fiscal 2018 at the earliest, according to informed sources.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance effectively suspended the provision of loans and trade insurance for nuclear plant export deals following the March 2011 disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

The planned resumption is in line with the government’s policy of facilitating nuclear plant exports, despite lingering concerns of whether the safety of nuclear power projects will be examined appropriately.

In 2015, the government introduced regulations mandating that, before the JBIC or other bodies provide financial support for nuclear plant exports, a panel of related agencies must check safety regulations in importing countries.

New policies for such support drawn up recently by the JBIC and NEXI call on the two entities to check, in advance of aid approval, whether nuclear plant operators in importing countries disclose information including basic facility designs and the environmental burdens for local residents in an appropriate manner, according to the sources. If necessary, they will ask plant operators to hold talks with residents.

The government-backed bodies will also regularly check evacuation plans provided to local residents and will stop financial aid if they find such briefing efforts to be insufficient.

“Information disclosure and the involvement of residents are crucial, as nuclear plant accidents would have extremely large impacts on local people,” a JBIC official said.

Subject to the new policies are exports of turbines, pumps, nuclear reactor parts and other equipment valued at ¥1.5 billion or more per shipment.