Institutionalizing WANO Best Practices in East Asia: Operating Experience, Training Systems, and the Prospects for Regional Harmonization

This study examines how the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Best Practices mechanism can be adopted and partially harmonized across Japan, China, and South Korea, and why such harmonization remains challenging in East Asia. Conceptually, best practices are treated as portable and performance-oriented routines anchored in WANO’s Performance Objectives and Criteria (PO&C). Empirically, the study compares national adoption pathways in two core mechanisms—operating experience feedback (OE) and the systematic approach to training (SAT)—using the United States as a benchmark case. Drawing on document analysis of international guidance and national regulatory and industry materials, this study identifies three structural barriers to regional convergence: (1) institutional divergence in regulatory autonomy and transparency; (2) technical discontinuities associated with reactor type, generational differences, digital I&C systems, and aging or first-of-a-kind (FOAK) management; and (3) political constraints rooted in public trust, policy volatility, and sovereignty-sensitive attitudes toward international standards. In order to complement the institutional analysis, a descriptive comparison of selected reactor units’ operating performance (EAF/FLR) is conducted to illustrate how “event-year” responses—shutdown, diagnosis, corrective action, and recovery—translate institutional logics into observable operational patterns. The findings suggest that East Asia already shares a practical foundation in OE and SAT structures, but that meaningful convergence requires the conversion of plant-specific lessons into standardized experience types and their embedding in domestic risk assessment and training cycles. This study proposes a staged regional strategy centered on a low-politics OE case library, modular SAT-based co-training, and standing technical working groups on FOAK stabilization and aging management.