Construction of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant began in 1993, but remains incomplete even after 33 years. The initial construction cost was 700 billion yen. However, as of June 2025, construction costs have risen to 3 trillion yen, with total project costs exceeding 15 trillion yen and likely to increase further. Although completion of the plant has already been postponed 27 times, Mr. Naohiro Masuda, Executive President and CEO of Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL), has stated that completion within FY2026 is “highly probable.” However, JNFL intends to conduct testing of the vitrification process of converting high-level radioactive liquid waste into glass solidification forms, arguably the most technically challenging stage of the reprocessing plant operations, only after completion of the plant. Meanwhile, the Nuclear Regulation Authority has indicated that it will not permit new fuel shearing unless the remaining 210 m³ of liquid waste from past active tests is successfully vitrified. Even if the plant is completed as scheduled in FY2026, reprocessing operations may not be feasible. In that case, new spent nuclear fuel could not be transported to the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, causing the Company’s roadmap to collapse. The nuclear fuel cycle is nonviable.