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JAPAN-NUCLEAR-DISASTER
Fukushima operator wins first safety approval since disaster
TOKYO, Dec 27, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Japan’s nuclear watchdog Wednesday gave a
formal green light to the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to
restart two reactors, the first since the 2011 atomic crisis.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority handed its approval to the Tokyo Electric
Power Co. following a month of public hearings, judging that the two reactors
met the stricter safety standards introduced after the disaster, an NRA
official told AFP.
The two reactors are situated at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, one
of the world’s biggest and the largest in Japan.
Like many other nuclear power plants in the country, the plant in central
Japan has been idle since the 2011 meltdown triggered by a tsunami after a
9.0-magnitude earthquake.
The tsunami overwhelmed reactor cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi
plant in northeastern Japan, causing meltdowns and releasing radiation in the
most dangerous nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
TEPCO still needs to get local consent to bring the reactors online, which
could take years.
Niigata Governor Ryuichi Yoneyama, who won the local election in 2016 for
a four-year term, is known to be cautious about restarting Kashiwazaki-
Kariwa.
“We will continue explaining to residents” to address their concerns,
TEPCO spokesman Shinichi Nakakuki told AFP.
The company “ultimately” hopes to win approval from local authorities,
Nakakuki added.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1216 hrs