The quake-induced crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is forcing other electric power companies to review their construction plans for nuclear power plants.
The quake-induced crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is forcing other electric power companies to review their construction plans for nuclear power plants.
Chugoku Electric Power Co. said Tuesday it was temporarily stopping landfill work in the Seto Inland Sea where it had planned to build the Kaminoseki nuclear power plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
A top executive of Chubu Electric Power Co. also indicated the company would review its construction plan for the No. 6 reactor at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture.
There are 54 nuclear power reactors now operating in Japan. Under the central government's basic energy plan, which covers a period through 2030, nine new nuclear power reactors will be constructed by 2020 and at least five more by 2030.
However, the nuclear problems in Fukushima Prefecture brought about by Japan's strongest earthquake on record and the massive tsunami will force a major review of that construction policy.
"It was a totally unexpected situation," Makoto Yagi, president of Kansai Electric Power Co., said at an emergency news conference Tuesday. "Although we have until now said nuclear power plants are safe while thinking about the largest-ever tsunami in the past, we should interpret the situation as one in which our considerations were insufficient."
Chugoku Electric Power began landfill work in February, despite vigorous opposition to plant construction from residents of Iwaishima island, which lies across the sea from the Kaminoseki site.
However, Chugoku Electric Power changed its policy after Kaminoseki Mayor Shigemi Kashiwabara and Yamaguchi Governor Sekinari Nii urged caution Sunday in light of the huge problems facing Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
The Hamaoka plant is located in a region that could suffer serious damage from the long-expected Tokai Earthquake. But Chubu Electric Power announced plans in 2008 to build the No. 6 reactor.
The company is seeking to start construction in 2015. It had planned to begin procedures for an environmental impact assessment within the current fiscal year, at the earliest.
Company officials said the Hamaoka plant had been designed to withstand at least a magnitude 8.5 earthquake. The design decision was made because of an 1854 earthquake with a magnitude of 8.4 that is believed to be the largest ever to strike the region.
But Friday's magnitude 9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake exceeds any forecasts made for the construction plan.
Shizuoka prefectural government officials working on nuclear power safety said the preconditions for the construction plan had collapsed.
The top Chubu Electric Power executive also said the company would use lessons learned from Friday's quake for the No. 6 reactor at Hamaoka.