More time to study need for reactor restart
Source: Agencies |
April 4, 2012, Wednesday
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JAPAN needs more time to decide whether to restart two offline nuclear reactors, the trade minister said yesterday, as concerns about a summer power crunch vie with safety worries in the wake of last year's Fukushima crisis.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will not make any immediate decision on a restart date, Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who holds the energy portfolio, told reporters.
"The prime minister instructed me to compile a standard that takes into account the analyses of the (Fukushima) crisis causes, a safety standard even if it is temporary," Edano said.
"It will take some time to obtain the understanding of the public including the locals. Of course, it is not good to be too slow but neither is it good to rush," he said.
The nuclear safety watchdog will compile the standard and present it at the next round of the ministers' meeting to discuss the restarts of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi plant, Edano said.
The date for the next meeting has not been set, Edano said, but Kyodo news agency quoted a government official as saying that it will take place later this week.
All but one of Japan's 54 reactors have been shut, mostly for maintenance checks, over the months since the radiation disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima plant, triggered by a huge tsunami in March 2011. The remaining reactor is set to be closed for maintenance on May 5.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will not make any immediate decision on a restart date, Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who holds the energy portfolio, told reporters.
"The prime minister instructed me to compile a standard that takes into account the analyses of the (Fukushima) crisis causes, a safety standard even if it is temporary," Edano said.
"It will take some time to obtain the understanding of the public including the locals. Of course, it is not good to be too slow but neither is it good to rush," he said.
The nuclear safety watchdog will compile the standard and present it at the next round of the ministers' meeting to discuss the restarts of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co's Ohi plant, Edano said.
The date for the next meeting has not been set, Edano said, but Kyodo news agency quoted a government official as saying that it will take place later this week.
All but one of Japan's 54 reactors have been shut, mostly for maintenance checks, over the months since the radiation disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima plant, triggered by a huge tsunami in March 2011. The remaining reactor is set to be closed for maintenance on May 5.
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