Japan set to 'stick to nuclear power'
Source: Agencies |
May 9, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
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JAPAN will maintain atomic power as a major part of its energy policy despite the ongoing nuclear crisis, a top official said yesterday.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku also said the government had no plans to halt nuclear reactors other than three at the Hamaoka power plant in central Japan. The plant was asked last week to halt the units until a seawall is built and backup systems are improved.
"Our energy policy is to stick to nuclear power," Sengoku said during a talk show on public broadcaster NHK.
He said Hamaoka was an exception and the government's closure request on Friday did not mean a departure from its nuclear-reliant policy.
On Saturday, the Chubu Electric Power Co, which runs the three Hamaoka reactors, postponed its decision on the government's shutdown request.
Chubu Electric executives were due to meet again after the weekend, company official Mikio Inomata said.
At issue is how to make up for the power shortages that would result from the shutdown of the three reactors. Inomata said at present they accounted for more than 10 percent of the company's power supplies.
The government has been reviewing the safety of the country's 54 atomic reactors since a March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in the north. The disaster left more than 25,000 people dead or missing on the northeast coast and triggered the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
The Hamaoka plant, about 200 kilometers west of Tokyo, is in an area where a major quake is expected within decades. It is a key power provider in central Japan, including nearby Aichi, home of the Toyota Motor Corp.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Friday that the closure request was for the "people's safety."
He noted that experts estimate a 90 percent chance of a quake with a magnitude of 8.0 or higher striking the region within 30 years.
Residents of Shizuoka Prefecture have long demanded a shutdown of the plant's reactors. About 79,800 people live within 10 kilometers of the complex.
Since the March 11 disasters, Chubu Electric has drawn up plans that include building a 12 meter high seawall nearly 1.5 kilometers long, company officials said. Chubu also promised to install additional emergency backup generators and other equipment and improve the water tightness of the reactor buildings.
The Hamaoka plant lacks a concrete sea barrier. Sand hills between the ocean and the plant are about 10 to 15 meters high, deemed enough to defend against a tsunami around 8 meters high, officials said.
But the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, said the tsunami that wrecked critical power and cooling systems there was at least 14 meters high.
Meanwhile, radioactivity inside the Dai-ichi No. 1 reactor building is now at levels deemed safe for people wearing protective suits to enter.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku also said the government had no plans to halt nuclear reactors other than three at the Hamaoka power plant in central Japan. The plant was asked last week to halt the units until a seawall is built and backup systems are improved.
"Our energy policy is to stick to nuclear power," Sengoku said during a talk show on public broadcaster NHK.
He said Hamaoka was an exception and the government's closure request on Friday did not mean a departure from its nuclear-reliant policy.
On Saturday, the Chubu Electric Power Co, which runs the three Hamaoka reactors, postponed its decision on the government's shutdown request.
Chubu Electric executives were due to meet again after the weekend, company official Mikio Inomata said.
At issue is how to make up for the power shortages that would result from the shutdown of the three reactors. Inomata said at present they accounted for more than 10 percent of the company's power supplies.
The government has been reviewing the safety of the country's 54 atomic reactors since a March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in the north. The disaster left more than 25,000 people dead or missing on the northeast coast and triggered the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
The Hamaoka plant, about 200 kilometers west of Tokyo, is in an area where a major quake is expected within decades. It is a key power provider in central Japan, including nearby Aichi, home of the Toyota Motor Corp.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Friday that the closure request was for the "people's safety."
He noted that experts estimate a 90 percent chance of a quake with a magnitude of 8.0 or higher striking the region within 30 years.
Residents of Shizuoka Prefecture have long demanded a shutdown of the plant's reactors. About 79,800 people live within 10 kilometers of the complex.
Since the March 11 disasters, Chubu Electric has drawn up plans that include building a 12 meter high seawall nearly 1.5 kilometers long, company officials said. Chubu also promised to install additional emergency backup generators and other equipment and improve the water tightness of the reactor buildings.
The Hamaoka plant lacks a concrete sea barrier. Sand hills between the ocean and the plant are about 10 to 15 meters high, deemed enough to defend against a tsunami around 8 meters high, officials said.
But the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, said the tsunami that wrecked critical power and cooling systems there was at least 14 meters high.
Meanwhile, radioactivity inside the Dai-ichi No. 1 reactor building is now at levels deemed safe for people wearing protective suits to enter.
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