Kansai Electric Power Co. and Kindai University on Monday signed a comprehensive partnership agreement aimed at enhancing education and research and fostering human resources in the field of nuclear energy.

This marks the first time Kansai Electric has entered into a comprehensive partnership agreement with a university specifically focused on nuclear energy.

In 1961, Kindai University installed and began operating a research reactor with a thermal power of 1 watt on its main campus in Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. Students majoring in nuclear engineering study the structure and other aspects of the reactor, and it is currently the only university research reactor in operation in Japan.

The Japanese government in February last year adopted a policy to "maximize the use of nuclear power." Kansai Electric, which operates the Mihama, Oi and Takahama nuclear power plants in Fukui Prefecture, decided to collaborate with Kindai University because it needs to secure personnel for its nuclear power business. The agreement also includes provisions for Kansai Electric to cooperate in the operation of the Kindai University research reactor.

Kindai University President Itaru Matsumura and Hitoshi Mizuta, general manager of Kansai Electric's Nuclear Power Division, attended a signing ceremony for the agreement on the day at the university's main campus.

"Human resource development is a key challenge for the future," Mizuta said. "By partnering with Kindai University, which has long utilized the research reactor for student training and other purposes, we hope to strengthen the foundation of our nuclear power business."

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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