EnergyCountry's sole planned reprocessing plant is nearly 30 years behind scheduleFrance's La Hague reprocessing plant suspends spent fuel in a deep pool for five to seven years to reduce radiation. (Photo by Yuya Kakegawa)YUYA KAKEGAWA and SHIMPEI NAKAMURAJuly 8, 2026 04:33 JSTOSAKA/TOKYO -- As Japan begins to restart and build new nuclear power plants, its ability to recycle spent nuclear fuel has emerged as a major challenge, with one power company planning to send fuel to France while a planned domestic processing plant stares down its 28th scheduling revision.