Kyushu Electric Power Co. plans to soon restart the No. 4 reactor at its Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, despite rising anti-nuclear sentiment and lingering anger over an e-mail scandal.
Kyushu Electric Power Co. plans to soon restart the No. 4 reactor at its Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, despite rising anti-nuclear sentiment and lingering anger over an e-mail scandal.
If approved, it will be the first nuclear reactor in Japan to resume operations since the March 11 Great East Earthquake struck northeastern Japan, triggering a tsunami that crippled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
"Since we have already explained details of the plan to local governments, we want to resume operations at the plant within several days," a Kyushu Electric Power executive said Oct. 31.
The No. 4 reactor, capable of generating 1.18 gigawatts of electricity, has been offline since Oct. 4, when it automatically shut down after an abnormality arose in a condenser that turns steam into water. The problem was caused by a worker using the wrong procedure instruction manual.
Kyushu Electric Power submitted a report on the cause of the incident and preventive measures to the industry ministry. The ministry's Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency on Oct. 31 said the utility's report was "largely acceptable."
Even if the No. 4 reactor is allowed to restart, it is scheduled to go offline again in December for a periodic inspection.
Genkai Mayor Hideo Kishimoto said if the central government approves the resumption plan, the town would not oppose.
But he also said: "We thought the reactor would be inspected without a resumption of operations. This is something we did not expect."
Kyushu Electric Power, which in September posted a deficit in its interim financial report for fiscal 2011, wants to run the reactor to reduce soaring fuel costs at its thermal power plants, sources said.
An 81-year-old Genkai resident who has joined anti-nuclear power activities lashed out at the utility, saying, "We cannot possibly accept such an act that totally ignores the wishes of residents."
Another anti-nuclear activist, who works at Fukuoka Jumintohyo-no-kai (Fukuoka referendum group), said the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has heightened fears of the next possible nuclear accident.
"I am so upset that Kyushu Electric Power made such a blatant decision without giving an explanation to residents," he said.
Questions have also been raised within Kyushu Electric Power.
"To be honest, I am surprised to hear about the plan," a worker at the utility said. "I do not know whether this has been orchestrated by our president or the nuclear power division, but I think this will prompt another round of public criticism against us."
In July, the company came under fire over reports that it tried to manipulate public opinion on nuclear power by instructing employees to send "pro-nuclear e-mails" to a public-hearing TV program.