Rokkasho (六ヶ所村, Rokkasho-mura) is a village in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 March 2023, the village had an estimated population of 9,845 in 4988 households, and a population density of 40 persons per km². The total area of the village is 252.68 square kilometres (97.56 sq mi).

Geography

Rokkasho occupies the eastern coastline of the base of Shimokita Peninsula, facing the Pacific Ocean to the east. The village forms the northern shoreline of Lake Ogawara.

Neighbouring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture

• Misawa
• Shimokita District
  • Higashidōri
• Kamikita District
  • Yokohama
  • Noheji
  • Tōhoku

Climate

The village has a warm summer Humid Continental Climate characterized by cool short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall (Köppen climate classification Dfb) bordering on the rare Oceanic Climate (Cfb). The average annual temperature in Rokkasho is 9.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1410 mm with August as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 21.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.5 °C as per the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Rokkasho has remained relatively stable over the past 70 years.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1920 5,802 —     1930 6,554 +1.23% 1940 7,977 +1.98% 1950 10,702 +2.98% 1960 13,523 +2.37% 1970 11,749 −1.40%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1980 11,104 −0.56% 1990 10,071 −0.97% 2000 11,849 +1.64% 2010 11,092 −0.66% 2020 10,367 −0.67%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

History

The area around Rokkasho was known for raising horses during the Kamakura period. During the Edo period, it was controlled by the Nanbu clan of Morioka Domain, becoming part of the territories of Shichinohe Domain in the latter half of the Edo period. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system after the start of the Meiji period, on April 1, 1889, the village of Rokkasho was created following the merger of six small hamlets.

Government

Rokkasho has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of 18 members. Rokkasho is part of Kamikita District which contributes four members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Aomori 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Education

Rokkasho has four public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the village government and one public high school operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education.

Economy

The economy of Rokkasho has traditionally been dependent on agriculture and commercial fishing. From the 1980s onwards, the village has become a center for various energy developments, which now dominate the local economy. Rokkasho's per capita income was $129,676 (1557,8000 Yen $1= 120.13 Yen )

Nuclear industry & Research

Nuclear fuel cycle related facilities:

• Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited headquarters
• The Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (currently under test operation)
• A uranium enrichment plant and plutonium reprocessing plant.
• A MOX fuel fabrication facility with an 800-ton per year capacity when completed
• A low level nuclear waste storage facility
• A high level nuclear waste temporary storage and monitoring facility

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency also has multiple facilities at the site like the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc) devoted to the Fusion Energy Development Programme under the European Union-Japan Broader Approach agreement.

Since the 1970s, local opposition to plans to operate Japan's first large commercial plutonium plant at Rokkasho have focused on the threat of a large-scale release of radioactivity. During the 1990s anti-nuclear groups in Japan released studies showing the risks of routine operation of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant. The facility in full operation is designed to separate as much as 8 tons of plutonium each year from spent reactor fuel from Japan's domestic nuclear reactors. As of 2006 Japan owned approximately 45 tons of separated plutonium.

In May, 2006, an international awareness campaign about the dangers of the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, Stop Rokkasho, was launched by musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. Greenpeace has opposed operation of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant under a campaign called "Wings of Peace: No more Hiroshima, Nagasaki. Stop Rokkasho", since 2002 and has launched a cyberaction to stop the project.

Rokkasho was a candidate to host the plasma fusion reactor ITER, but lost out to Cadarache, France. Rokkasho has been hosting the Helios high-performance supercomputer centre capable of performing complex plasma physics calculations for fusion research, since January 2012.

Gas and wind power

• Mutsu-Ogawara Oil Storage Facility
  • Completed: September 1985
  • Max capacity: around 5,700 megaliters in 51 tanks
  • Current usage: 4,920 megaliters at end of March 2003
  • Managing company：Mutsu-Ogawara Oil Storage Co Ltd
• Mutsu-Ogawara Wind Farm
  • Established: January 2003
  • Power: 31,500 kW (1,500 kW × 21 units)
  • Managing company: Eco power
• Rokkashomura Futamata Wind Power Plant
  • Established: December 2003
  • Power: 31,850 kW (1,500 kW × 20 units; 1,425 KW x 2 units)
  • Managing company: Japan Wind Development Company Ltd
• Rokkashomura Wind Power Plant
  • Established: May 2007
  • Power: 51,000 kW (1,500 kW × 34 units)
  • Managing company: Japan Wind Development Company Ltd
• Battery energy storage facility
  • 34 MW (204 MWh) grid energy storage facility using sodium–sulfur batteries, manufactured by NGK, installed since 2008

Agriculture

Stock raising is prevalent.

Fishing

Three small fishing ports.

Transportation

Railway

• Rokkasho is not served by any passenger train service. The closest train station is either Noheji Station or Otomo Station on the Aomori Railway or Fukikoshi Station on the Ominato Line

Highway

• Shimokita Expressway
• National Route 338
• National Route 394

International relations

Waren, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Sister city since 1994.

Local attractions

• Rokkasho Prefectural History Museum

In popular media

A documentary, Rokkasho Rhapsody, came out in 2006, which portrays the Rokkasho community's views on the nuclear reprocessing plant.