The central government has begun coordinating efforts to restart two nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture due to fears of power shortages in the Kansai region, part of the nation's industrial heartland, this summer.
The central government has begun coordinating efforts to restart two nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture due to fears of power shortages in the Kansai region, part of the nation's industrial heartland, this summer.But a question mark remains over whether local governments will give the green light to restart reactors at the Oi nuclear power plant in the prefecture because of concerns about the safety of the facilities.The No. 3 and No. 4 reactors, operated by Kansai Electric Power Co., were shut down for routine maintenance in March and in July, respectively, after the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant caused by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.The government is seeking the go-ahead to restart the reactors in anticipation of a favorable finding by its Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on the safety of the reactors following stress tests.The stress tests, based on computer simulations by the operator of the plant, determine what sort of safety cushion a nuclear reactor has in the event of a natural disaster or a major accident.The process was introduced last year in an effort to lessen public concern about the safety of nuclear facilities following the meltdowns and hydrogen explosions in Fukushima after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami.The NISA will verify the utility's findings by holding hearings attended by nuclear experts. It held a hearing on the reactors at the Oi plant on Feb. 8.Although some experts called for additional examinations before approval of the restart, the government is pressing to go ahead before summer because a power shortage would jeopardize the nation’s efforts at economic recovery.“(A shortage of power supply) could drag down the Japanese economy,” Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said.Power shortages due to keeping nuclear plants offline could deal a serious blow to businesses in the Kansai region, which is served by Osaka-based Kansai Electric.Kansai Electric depends on nuclear power--more than any other utility in the nation. Nuclear power accounts for more than half of the electricity it generates.At present, only three of the nation’s 54 reactors are in service. The rest have been shut down for regular maintenance or because of problems. The remaining three reactors are due to be shut down by the end of April for maintenance.Before the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power represented about 30 percent of electricity output in Japan.The government’s Energy and Environment Council said the Kansai region could expect a power shortage of around 20 percent if the reactors remain idle.Whether the government can bring the reactors back online depends, to a large extent, on the stance taken by local governments.The Fukui prefectural government maintains that the stress tests do not go far enough to prove the safety of the reactors. As a condition for the restart, it is demanding that the central government establish provisional safety guidelines based on lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster.“The main premise of the restart is the central government’s provisional safety guidelines,” Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa said Feb. 8.Noda and ministers dealing with the issue are expected to visit Fukui Prefecture in an effort to gain the consent of the local governments.In the end, Noda, in consultation with industry minister Yukio Edano, Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, will decide on the restart.Meanwhile, on Feb. 8, a hearing on the results of the stress tests conducted at the Oi plant was held amid noisy protests by opponents of nuclear power in front of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, where the NISA is headquartered.Before the start of the 3 p.m. hearing, protesters began shouting to demand access to the hearing.The NISA did not permit observers to sit in on the hearing “due to jeering” in a previous session and to avoid “confusion.”Instead, it broadcast the session live in a separate room where more than 100 people, including anti-nuclear activists and electric utility officials, followed the discussions.Some citizens complained about the broadcast, saying it was difficult to figure out who was speaking.A series of hearings began in November, drawing a growing number of observers as the hearings progressed.“We want to create an environment where the experts can calmly discuss the questions,” a NISA official said.Some experts, however, were critical of the NISA’s decision, calling it an “overreaction.”“The hearings were begun with the policy of being open to the public to win public trust,” said Masashi Goto, one of the experts at the hearing and a part-time lecturer at Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo. “If the agency shuts out the public from the hearings, it will end up losing public trust.”