FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) — On the first anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the governor of Fukushima Prefecture on Sunday called for terminating nuclear power and promoting the use of renewable energy.
“Fukushima aims to create a society that enjoys sustainable development by promoting renewable energy and not depending on nuclear power,” read the “Fukushima Declaration,” unveiled by Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato at a symposium in Fukushima city concerning the revival of the prefecture from the March disasters.
“We will call for all nuclear power stations in the prefecture to be shut down so that an accident like this never happens again,” said the declaration signed by Sato, referring to the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The symposium was held following a ceremony organized by the prefectural government to mark one year since the disasters. To spread the message to the world, an English version of the declaration was posted on the prefecture’s official website.
“We will create once again a beautiful Fukushima. We will build a dynamic and vibrant Fukushima. We will show the world and pass down to future generations Fukushima’s revitalization process,” it said.
Kyodo Press, March 12, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/12/20120312p2g00m0dm068000c.html
Mixed reaction over plan for Fukushima county to store radioactive waste
FUKUSHIMA — The mayors of towns and villages in the Futaba county of Fukushima Prefecture have shown mixed responses to the central government’s request that three of the eight municipalities in the county host temporary storage facilities for radioactive soil and waste emanating from the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
“What’s the rationale for us to have to host such facilities?” one of the mayors questioned, while another said in defense of the plan, “Decontamination work will not progress unless those storage facilities are installed at an early date.”
The central government requested on March 10 that the towns of Futaba, Naraha and Okuma in the county host interim storage facilities for contaminated soil and waste, pressing the towns’ mayors to make a difficult decision and accept the proposal.
After exchanging opinions with central government officials, Futaba Town Mayor Katsutaka Idogawa said, “I will discuss the matter with the municipal assembly and townspeople.” However, he questioned, “Is there a reason for us to host such a facility?”
Referring to the controversial assertions by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled nuclear plant, that the radioactive materials that were once scattered outside the plant compounds are “ownerless,” Mayor Idogawa stressed, “Unless we know who the owner (of the contaminated soil) is, there is no room to talk about it.”
Okuma Town Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe said, “It is disgusting that the government started narrowing down candidate host towns from the really early stages. It’s not about hosting such a facility because of money. ... We want the central government to fulfill its accountability to our residents and municipal assembly.”
Naraha Town Mayor Takashi Kusano, meanwhile, welcomed the government’s request, saying, “We have no choice but to cooperate.”
Residents evacuating from the areas around the troubled nuclear complex have also expressed mixed emotions.
“I don’t want our town to host such a facility, but I’ve half given up. Unless a direction is determined at an early date, residents’ return to the town would be delayed and the town of Okuma will vanish,” said the 74-year-old head of the Ottozawa district.
A 43-year-old farmer in the town of Naraha said, “Hosting such a facility would discourage many residents from coming back to the town. The burden shouldn’t be inflicted on Fukushima alone, the pain should be shared by the entire nation.”
Mainichi Shimbun, March 12, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/12/20120312p2a00m0na014000c.html
Lawsuit seeking to halt Genkai atomic plant draws record plaintiffs
SAGA, Japan (Kyodo) — A pending lawsuit seeking to shut down Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai nuclear power plant was joined Monday by another 1,370 people, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to roughly 3,000, the largest among those suits against nuclear power plants, according to lawyers.
The lawsuit against the central government and the company that operates the four-reactor plant in Saga Prefecture was filed initially with the Saga District Court in January by about 1,700 people from across Japan.
The suit said the safety myth regarding nuclear reactors has collapsed after the Fukushima nuclear crisis and their right to wholesome living guaranteed under the Constitution is threatened by the operation of the Genkai plant.
The lawyers representing the plaintiffs said another group of plaintiffs is planning to file a suit in May to seek to suspend another nuclear power plant run by Kyushu Electric Power.
At a rally after filing the suit, Akira Hasegawa, the plaintiffs’ leader and former president of Saga University, said, “Drawing 10,000 plaintiffs now looks realistic. Let us move the state.”
Kyodo Press, March 13, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/13/20120313p2g00m0dm027000c.html
Noda to take lead in gaining local approval to restart nuclear plants
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledged Sunday to take a leadership role in gaining local approval to restart nuclear power reactors once the central government decides to do so, to avert potential power shortages around Japan caused by the lost output of atomic plants previously producing a third of the nation’s electricity.
At a press conference held on the first anniversary of the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Noda also said he will make a formal request for prefectural governments to accept debris generated by the natural disaster that hit northeastern Japan.
The central government “should make every effort” to obtain the support of areas where nuclear plants are located, Noda said.
“I’m aware that I have to take a lead” in asking for cooperation of local governments and residents, he said, while reiterating that “politics will decide” ultimately whether to give the green light to resume the operations of idled reactors nationwide. Of Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear reactors, only two are currently online.
The nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, triggered by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11 last year, has made the public wary about the safety of nuclear plants.
But since he took office in September, Noda has expressed his willingness to restart the reactors, warning power shortages otherwise could drag down the country’s economy.
Noda also said he will formally urge municipalities to accept debris from areas devastated by the natural disasters, vowing to speed up the disposal, whose progress has been slow due to fears the debris may contain radioactive substances from the related disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The national government “will move one and two steps forward” to dispose of the debris, Noda said, adding that he will also call for the cooperation of private businesses such as cement companies on the issue.
Some local governments have announced their intention to cooperate, but outside the northeastern region, only the Tokyo metropolitan government has actually begun accepting waste.
Kyodo Press, March 12, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/12/20120312p2g00m0dm066000c.html
Japan’s oldest reactor marks 42nd anniv., resumption unforeseen
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan’s oldest commercial nuclear reactor reached its 42nd anniversary Wednesday, at a time when the government has proposed limiting the service life of nuclear reactors at 40 years in the wake of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima complex.
The No. 1 reactor of the Tsuruga nuclear plant in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, operated by Japan Atomic Power Co., commenced its operational life on March 14, 1970, to distribute electricity mainly to western Japan, including the Kansai area surrounding Osaka.
While it has been idled since Jan. 26 last year for a 14-month regular checkup, it remains unclear when, or if, it will be reactivated in the face of the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and the government’s proposed 40-year limit.
Moreover, an active fault was detected under the premises of the Tsuruga plant, stirring concerns of a magnitude 7.4-level earthquake.
Tsuruga Mayor Kazuharu Kawase indicated the reactor should be reactivated once its safety is confirmed, arguing the government’s 40-year proposal “is logically invalid.”
Opposing this view, Tetsuen Nakajima, an antinuclear activist in Fukui, said, “It remains unclear how the aging affected the troubled reactors at the Fukushima complex. Degraded reactors should be decommissioned in succession before they cause catastrophic situations.”
In Fukui Prefecture, the No. 2 reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Mihama nuclear plant will turn 40 in July and its No. 1 reactor will have been operated for 42 years in November.
Another five reactors in the prefecture have already been operated for more than 30 years.
Kyodo Press, March 14, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/14/20120314p2g00m0dm017000c.html
Residents to sue operator to stop Tokai No. 2 nuclear plant
TOKYO (Kyodo) — People living near the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture and their lawyers are planning to sue its operator to stop the plant on the grounds that its aging reactor has raised safety concerns, people familiar with the case said Sunday.
They said the number of plaintiffs is expected to reach nearly 100, partly because members of a local consumer cooperative union are expected to join the suit, adding that the suit could be filed with the Mito District Court as early as May.
The plant, located in the village of Tokaimura and operated by Japan Atomic Power Co., began commercial operations in 1978. Its sole boiling water reactor is capable of generating 1.1 million kilowatts of electricity.
The reactor has been suspended since May for regular maintenance. It is unclear when it could be restarted given widespread public concern over nuclear power following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
In the March disaster, one of the plant’s seawater pumps for reactor coolant was submerged by waves, which also disabled one of three emergency diesel-engine generators at the site.
The co-op, a group located in Moriya, Ibaraki, that declared its opposition to nuclear power last June, decided in September to file a lawsuit over the plant’s operation.
Since the nuclear crisis at the Tokyo Electric Power Co. plant in Fukushima, similar suits have been filed in various parts of the country that host nuclear power plants.
Kyodo Press, February 20, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/02/20/20120220p2g00m0dm027000c.html
700 form human chain calling for decommissioning of Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant
TOKAI, Ibaraki — About 700 protesters surrounded the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant on Feb. 26, making calls against reactivating the plant and demanding the plant be decommissioned.
The human chain took place around Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Feb. 26. The plant has been suspended for regular inspections.
Stretching nearly 1 kilometer long, participants formed the human chain hand in hand, calling against the reactivation of the Tokai No. 2 nuclear plant and for the decommissioning of the plant.
Some young people even traveled from outside the prefecture to take part in the protest after learning about the event via Twitter. The demonstration was organized by the “Tokai Daini Genpatsu Hairo Action,” comprised of the Ibaraki Heiwa Yogo Kenmin Kaigi (Ibaraki prefectural residents’ council for protecting peace) and other entities.
Participants joined a rally at a nearby park before hitting the streets and parading for about 30 minutes. After reaching the nuclear plant, they started forming the human chain.
“I hadn’t realized the danger of nuclear power plants until I was evacuated (from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant). The blunder must not be repeated,” said a 57-year-old housewife who was forced to evacuate from Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, to Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Mainichi Shimbun, February 27, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/02/27/20120227p2a00m0na005000c.html
Noda hints at OK for nearly completed Shimane plant reactor to operate
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda suggested Wednesday approval may be given to operate the nearly completed No. 3 reactor of a nuclear power plant in Shimane Prefecture.
“It is possible to make a decision based on the progress of each” reactor, Noda told a parliament session, apparently referring to the No. 3 reactor at the Shimane plant of Chugoku Electric Power Co.
The government is carefully considering how to handle reactors under construction as the public has become increasingly wary about the safety of nuclear power plants in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi plant disaster.
The premier told the upper house budget committee session there are “various possibilities” regarding what to do with reactors under construction.
Noda also reiterated it is “basically difficult” for new nuclear power plants to be built.
Other reactors under construction include Electric Power Development Co.’s Oma nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture, and the No. 1 reactor of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Higashidori nuclear plant. Work began on the latter in January 2011, but has not moved forward since then.
Noda reiterated that local consent will be secured before the government decides whether or not to resume operating reactors idled for routine checkups.
The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan recently said it will soon present its view of the results of the first-round safety tests on two idled reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi plant. Noda and relevant Cabinet ministers will then judge whether to authorize the reactors to resume operating.
Kyodo Press, March 15, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/15/20120315p2a00m0na013000c.html
Gov’t OKs extension of 30-yr-old Ikata nuclear reactor’s run
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan’s nuclear safety agency approved an extension Thursday of the operation of a 30-year-old reactor at the Ikata power plant in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, for 10 more years, the agency said.
The No. 2 unit at the three-reactor plant operated by Shikoku Electric Power Co. will be the 20th nuclear reactor to run for more than 30 years in Japan.
It is the first time the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has approved a request for a long-term extension of a nuclear reactor’s operation since the nuclear crisis began last March at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The law requires utilities to undergo screening by the agency when they will run reactors for more than 30 years.
The reactor in the town of Ikata on the Seto Inland Sea began operating on March 19, 1982. Shikoku Electric applied in March last year for the government’s approval of its plan to extend the unit’s operation.
Kyodo Press, March 16, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/16/20120316p2g00m0dm044000c.html
Nearly 60 percent of mayors in disaster-hit areas want nuclear power stations abolished
Nearly 60 percent of the heads of local governments in areas hit by the March 11, 2011 triple disasters have called for the abolition of nuclear power plants, according to a Mainichi survey.
The Mainichi Shimbun surveyed the mayors of 42 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures affected by the disasters triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake prior to the first anniversary of the catastrophe.
In Fukushima Prefecture that hosts the crippled nuclear plant, 12 out of 15 mayors surveyed said all nuclear reactors should be decommissioned, compared with eight in a survey conducted just six months after the disasters.
Seven of the mayors of the Miyagi Prefecture municipalities called for the abolition of nuclear power stations, jumping from one in the previous survey. Iwate Prefecture saw a slight decline from six to five.
The results show local communities in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures that are suffering from groundless rumors about radiation contamination are also hoping for less dependence on nuclear energy.
Katsunobu Sakurai, mayor of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, seeks the total abolition of nuclear plants in the long run because “it has become clear that the safety of residents and the environment is not guaranteed.” Some areas of the city have been designated as either no-go zones or planned evacuation zones.
Norio Kanno, mayor of Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, said, “If Japan declares it will seek economic growth through nuclear power stations, the international community will turn its back on us.”
On the other hand, Toshitsuna Watanabe, mayor of Okuma where part of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is situated, pointed to the need of such power stations.
“It’s difficult to secure substitute energy sources if all the nuclear power stations in Japan are stopped,” he said. “The minimum necessary plants should be retained while safety regulations are stiffened.”
Yoshiaki Suda, mayor of Onagawa, home to the Onagawa nuclear plant, urged the government and businesses to step up efforts to develop substitute energy sources while reactivating nuclear power stations for as long as it is possible.
Mainichi Shimbun, March 8, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/08/20120308p2a00m0na017000c.html
57 percent of local gov’ts near nuke plants favor conditional reactor restarts: survey
The majority of leaders of local governments located within a 30-kilometer radius from a nuclear power plant approve of the restart of reactors idled for regular maintenance, though only if certain conditions are fulfilled, a Mainichi survey shows.
The survey, conducted from Feb. 1, asked the governors of 20 prefectures and the mayors of 122 municipalities located within a 30-kilometer radius of a nuclear power plant whether they approve or disapprove of the restart of the suspended reactors. The survey — conducted in a multiple choice style — obtained answers from a total of 137 local governments. Municipalities near the damaged Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, however, were not surveyed.
According to the survey results, 57 percent of the mayors and governors surveyed conditionally approve of the restart of nuclear reactors, while those who were against it stood at only 17 percent. There were no responses that approved of the restart unconditionally.
Among the most common choices municipalities selected as a prerequisite for the restart of the nuclear plants were “an indication of safety measures and conditions of plants’ restart by the government,” (80 percent), “completion of stress tests,” (62 percent), “approval by the local assembly,” (46 percent) and “a clear explanation of the cause of the Fukushima No. 1 disaster” (44 percent).
Additional opinions included “an explanation of the relationship between supply and demand of electric power,” submitted by the Furubira Municipal Government in Hokkaido, and “achieving 100 percent security and safety,” mentioned by Shizuoka Prefecture’s Kakegawa Municipal Government.
Reasons behind municipalities’ approval of the restart varied between the most common “to stabilize Japan’s energy supply,” (77 percent) to “because plants’ safety will be secured through stress tests and other means,” (53 percent). Others included “it is necessary until an alternative energy supply method is firmly established,” submitted by the Sabae Municipal Government in Fukui Prefecture.
Approval based on financial reasons, such as “to secure certain income such as government subsidies for hosting nuclear plants,” was cited by only 6 percent of the respondents.
Meanwhile, the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant was mentioned by most prefectural and municipal leaders who oppose the plants’ restart.
“Because the cause of the Fukushima nuclear disaster has not been established yet,” obtained 74 percent of the responses, while “the nuclear crisis has clarified the danger of nuclear power plants” stood at 65 percent. The third most common choice was “Because stress tests and other inspection means have not proved the safety of the plants” (57 percent).
Additional opposition comments included “Because the electric power industry and the central government have failed to show sincere remorse for causing the nuclear crisis,” cited by Ibaraki Prefecture’s Tokai Municipal Government.
Apart from their answers to the multiple-choice questions in the survey, a total of 21 percent of all municipalities further submitted additional comments in regards of the topic, with most of them being critical of the central government.
One of them, submitted by the Tottori Prefectural Government, read “It is necessary to analyze the cause of the Fukushima nuclear crisis and fundamentally map out safety measures. However, the government has failed to do what it should.”
Among the 54 nuclear reactors in Japan, currently only two — the Tomari Nuclear Power Plant’s No. 3 reactor in Hokkaido and the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant’s No. 6 reactor in Niigata Prefecture — are in operation. The two are operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Co., respectively.
Mainichi Shimbun, March 1, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/01/20120301p2a00m0na012000c.html
Nuclear agency OKs Ikata nuclear reactor’s safety test results
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan’s nuclear safety agency Friday validated the results of a safety test on an idled nuclear reactor at the Ikata power plant, saying that measures have already been taken to prevent an accident even if a quake or tsunami similar to the one that struck the Fukushima Daiichi plant comes, in a draft report to an advisory panel.
If the report is finalized, the No. 3 unit at Shikoku Electric Power Co.’s plant will be the third nuclear reactor that the agency has approved the results of the first-round of the so-called stress test, a precondition for reopening reactors idled for scheduled checkup.
The draft report said the results of the computer simulated safety test suggest that the utility has taken measures to prevent the reactor in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, from getting into a situation similar to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, even if it is hit by an earthquake and tsunami like the one that occurred on March 11, 2011.
The stress test checks the ability of reactors to withstand earthquake and tsunami.
The agency approved the results of similar safety tests last month for the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture, also in western Japan. The two reactors as well as the Ikata plant’s No. 3 reactor are among dozens of reactors idled for routine checkup.
The government mandated the two-stage stress test following the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi plant in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami a year ago. The first stage of the stress test cover reactors idled for scheduled checks, while the second stage assesses all reactors in Japan.
Shikoku Electric originally reported that the No. 3 reactor at the Ikata plant is capable of withstanding an earthquake 1.86 times stronger than the most powerful quake required under safety criterion. But the utility later lowered the figure to 1.5 as some facilities were found to be weaker than once thought.
The agency said in the report that since a government disaster prevention committee has been examining the possibility of a huge earthquake linked to the Nankai Trough off the Shikoku region, including Ehime, it would “closely watch” the body’s discussion to see if its finding would affect the maximum quake and tsunami levels that the Ikata reactor needs to meet.
The report also called on Shikoku Electric to strengthen measures against floating objects after a tsunami and to consider access routes to the plant for workers in extreme circumstances, such as rain or at night, in the wake of an accident.
If the agency finalizes the report, it will be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission to be double checked. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and other ministers concerned will decide whether to restart the reactor after taking into account the opinions of local communities.
* Kyodo Press, March 9, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/09/20120309p2g00m0dm083000c.html
TEPCO to indicate in March whether all Fukushima reactors to be scrapped
FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. will indicate later in the month whether all the reactors at its two nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture will be scrapped, not just the four badly damaged reactors to be decommissioned at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, company President Toshio Nishizawa said Friday.
Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato has demanded that the utility known as TEPCO scrap not only the crisis-hit Nos. 1 to 4 units at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant but also the Nos. 5 and 6 reactors at the complex, as well as the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors at the company’s Fukushima Daini plant.
“We must show our view” in the company’s comprehensive restructuring plan to be compiled by the end of the month, Nishizawa told reporters during a visit to the prefecture ahead of the first anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which triggered the nuclear crisis.
He also said the company will consider whether to scrap all the reactors by “listening to local opinions and watching discussions on nuclear power taking place inside the government.”
Cash-strapped since the accident, TEPCO and a state-backed bailout fund are working to compile the restructuring plan.
Sources close to the matter said Friday that TEPCO is also set to compile a plan on power supply over the next 10 years, based on the assumption that the six reactors other than the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s Nos. 1 to 4 units remain suspended.
The plan, which utilities are obliged to submit to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry every year, will also be submitted later in the month, the sources said.
If left unable to restart for 10 years, the six reactors would exceed, or move closer to, the 40-year limit that the government is seeking to set for the operational life of the country’s nuclear reactors in the wake of the Fukushima crisis.
As the government plans to basically scrap reactors that surpass the limit as part of enhanced nuclear regulation, TEPCO’s power supply plan suggests the six reactors may end up entering the decommissioning process without resuming operation.
Deciding to scrap the six reactors would mean that TEPCO, already struggling under massive compensation payments related to the crisis, could face a much greater financial burden.
The power-generation capacity of the six reactors totals 6.28 million kilowatts. TEPCO will make up for the loss by increasing thermal power generation and through other means.
Kyodo Press, March 10, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/10/20120310p2g00m0dm027000c.html
Japan nuclear reactor operating rate hits record low 6.1% in Feb.
TOKYO (Kyodo) — The operating rate of Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear reactors fell to a record low of 6.1 percent in February from 10.3 percent in January as a reactor was shut down for regular checks in the reporting month, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum has said.
The record low, since comparable data began to be collected in April 1977, was marked amid the prolonged suspension of reactors for checks following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Only one reactor at the Tomari power plant in Hokkaido and one at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture remained in operation at the end of February, with both scheduled to be suspended for regular checks by early May.
Operators are required to have safety test results for idled reactors approved by the government and to secure consent from local governments before reactors can be restarted.
The government has begun the final procedure to approve the results of “stress tests” for two reactors at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture, but prospects are dim that local governments will consent to their restart.
The 54 reactors include four at the six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi complex that Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to decommission following the nuclear disaster.
Kyodo Press, March 10, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/03/10/20120310p2g00m0dm021000c.html
Takahama reactor shuts down, leaving only 2 units online in Japan
FUKUI, Japan (Kyodo) — Kansai Electric Power Co. suspended the No. 3 reactor of its Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture early Tuesday for a scheduled checkup, leaving only two out of a total 54 commercial reactors operating in Japan.
The two reactors — the No. 6 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture and the No. 3 reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari plant in Hokkaido — will also be suspended on March 26 and in late April, respectively, for routine checkups stipulated for Japanese reactors every 13 months.
As no reactors have resumed operation after going through regular checkups since the Fukushima complex disaster last March, it is highly likely that Japan will have no operating nuclear reactors this spring.
With the Takahama reactor shutdown, Kansai Electric, which has 11 reactors and had produced half of its electricity by nuclear power before the quake-triggered disaster in northeastern Japan, forecasts its supply capacity could fall short of peak demand by 8.8 percent by mid-March under one scenario.
Since December, the government has been asking homes and offices in the utility’s service area to cut electricity usage by more than 10 percent from year-earlier levels.
Kansai Electric President Makoto Yagi on Monday expressed readiness to resume nuclear power generation, saying at a press conference in Osaka, “We will strive to restore trust by taking all possible measures to ensure the safety of nuclear power generation.”
The shutdown of Takahama’s No. 3 reactor also means no operating reactors in Fukui, which hosts 14 units — the largest number by prefecture in Japan.
Fukui has been hosting nuclear power facilities for about 42 years since Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tsuruga plant began operation on the coast of Tsuruga Bay in March 1970.
Earlier this month, the national government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency endorsed stress test results on two idled reactors at Kansai Electric’s Oi plant in Fukui, a step necessary to resume their operation.
However, the Fukui prefectural government has been reluctant to accept the reactor’s restart, saying the central government should first establish new safety standards based on lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster.
Kyodo Press, February 21, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/02/21/20120221p2g00m0dm019000c.html
Panel on nuclear crisis criticizes inspections conducted merely as formality
An independent fact-finding panel on the crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant has pointed the finger at safety inspections that are conducted on nuclear plants merely as a formality as well as the government’s vertically-structured administrative system.
In a report, the panel also pointed out that the current system under which private power companies operate nuclear power plants in accordance with the government’s policy has given rise to moral hazards regarding safety regulations and obscured where responsibility lies.
As a symbolic example of the harmful effects of the government’s vertically structured administrative setup, the panel’s report cited a delay in the government’s announcement of data on the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI), which predicts how radioactive substances will spread. The panel devoted 16 pages of the 400-page report to describe the problem.
The government decided on March 16, 2011, that the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry would compile data on radiation doses and that the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) would announce the data, which it points out obscured the responsibility for releasing such data.
The ministry claimed that the NSC agreed to the division of roles. However, NSC Chairman Haruki Madarame testified that the ministry decided on the division of roles without consulting NSC and forced it to announce SPEEDI data.
The panel assumes that the ministry shifted the role of announcing SPEEDI data to the NSC without consulting its members.
“The possibility cannot be ruled out that the ministry’s response, which suggests that it tried to evade responsibility, contributed to the delay in announcing data,” the report says.
The panel attributed a delay in the monitoring of radiation from aircraft until March 25 to a lack of cooperation between the Nuclear Safety Technology Center, which carried out the monitoring, and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), which flew helicopters for the work.
Furthermore, the panel pointed out that a lack of communication between multiple government organizations that inspect nuclear power plants has allowed them to conduct safety inspections merely as a formality, as a result of which they failed to take effective measures to respond to the nuclear crisis.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and its affiliate, the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES), and the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry and its affiliate, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, conducted inspections on nuclear plants, according to the panel’s report.
“These bodies did not have smooth communications with each other. Each of them only did what they were supposed to do and failed to effectively respond to the accident,” it states.
The report also says that safety inspections on nuclear plants are inadequate.
“Inspection bodies were supposed to merely copy everything from documents compiled by electric power companies and check if they’ve inspected their nuclear plants according to the procedures,” the report quotes a JNES inspector as saying.
“Those involved in safety inspections can’t see the forest for the trees,” it quotes a senior official of JNES as telling the panel.
* Mainichi Shimbun, February 28, 2012
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2012/02/28/20120228p2a00m0na012000c.html
Reactor safety not confirmed by first-round stress tests: Madarame
TOKYO (Kyodo) — The head of Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission said Monday that the safety of nuclear reactors cannot be determined by the first round of stress tests alone, although the government does not require the second round of tests for the reactivation of reactors idled for periodic maintenance.
“With only the first round (of stress tests), the level of safety confirmation that the commission seeks would not be met,” Haruki Madarame, chairman of the five-member state body tasked with supervising the government’s nuclear safety regulation, said at a press conference.
Although Madarame said whether to reactivate reactors is up to the government, his comments mean that government authorization of reactor restarts based on the results of the first-stage stress tests would take place without the confirmation of safety by the key supervising commission.
The government introduced the reactor stress tests after the Fukushima nuclear crisis to determine the ability of reactors to withstand earthquakes and tsunami.
The first stage of stress tests cover reactors currently idled for regular checks to see if they can be restarted, while the second stage assesses all reactors in Japan.
Madarame said, “Whether to reactivate (reactors) is the government’s decision and we, as the safety commission, won’t say anything about it.”
Earlier this month, the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency endorsed stress test results for two idled reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi power plant, the first time it has done so for reactors undergoing the tests.
Madarame’s commission is now tasked with checking the agency’s endorsement of the stress test results submitted by Kansai Electric. After the commission’s examination, the government will decide whether to authorize the restart of the reactors.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said during a separate news conference that deciding whether to allow reactors to resume operation following regular checks is up to the government, after taking into account factors such as the feelings of local residents.
Kyodo Press, February 21, 2012
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