Ever since the March 11 Fukushima Daiichi accident, Japan’s nuclear industry has been on the defensive. All over the country, even reactors shut for routine maintenance have been unable to restart due to opposition from local governments near those power plants. Unless those attitudes change, every reactor in Japan could be shut by next year.
But now there are signs that, at least in some regions, officials are willing to let plants come back online.
Reuters/KyodoHokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari nuclear power plant could officially come back online soon.The turning point could be the northernmost region of Hokkaido, which is on the verge of formally restarting the first nuclear plant to come back online since the March 11 disasters. Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi announced at a press conference Wednesday that she will be asking the government for final approval, effectively giving the green light from the local level to restart the nuclear plant.
“I put safety above all else and would like to work towards easing the concerns of the people of Hokkaido,” the governor said in a statement released along with her decision. “With the Fukushima accident in mind, I urge the government to do all it can to ensure safety and make sure that trust is not lost between the people and the government.”
The next and final step is to get approval from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo, which may not prove to be an obstacle. Though there has been much water under the bridge in the meantime, trade minister Banri Kaieda told reporters on May 11 that the ministry would like to approve the restart of the nuclear plant in Tomari as soon as the locals give the go ahead, according to the Nikkei.
Of all the local officials weighing in on the status of nuclear reactors, Ms. Takahashi may have been among the more sympathetic. She used to be an official at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the government agency that has long been responsible for promoting — and regulating — the nuclear industry.
One other reason why the METI rubber stamp may be little more than a formality: Hokkaido Electric Power Co., the operator of Tomari, which was shut in January for inspections, has actually been providing power from the plant since mid-March on what it calls a “test-run” basis. Effectively the plant has been operational, providing power to the grid at full capacity, lacking solely the official seal from the government for a status-change deeming it “operational.”
“We haven’t actually received official approval from the governmental level yet,” said company spokesman Fumihiko Kano. “We would like the approval as soon as possible after gaining the understanding of local residents.”
In Tomari itself, some residents’ homes are as close as one kilometer from the reactor. Town officials say they have not heard any opposition from residents. “We haven’t received any calls about this,” says Tetsuro Takahashi, a Tomari village official.
He did say that officials have received “about 550 emails voicing opposition since this issue surfaced,” but he said those didn’t appear to be from the community itself, but rather anti-nuclear organizations.
Meanwhile Mr. Kanno, the Hokkaido Electric spokesman, said the utility can provide stable power for the summer without the reactor if need be, but come the region’s notoriously chilly winter, supply could fall short unless the company can get final approval to restart the nuclear reactor — officially.
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