Japan To Restart Two Nuclear Reactors

Published on Wednesday March 12 2014 (AEST)


 

Tokyo, Mar 12:  Japan is expected to reactivate two reactors on the southern island of Kyushu in time to deal with summer demand despite public opposition, a news report said Wednesday. 

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday was to complete the review of countermeasures against tsunamis and earthquakes at the two units of the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima prefecture, 1,100 km south-west of Tokyo, the Nikkei business daily reported. 

The regulators will then discuss final checks in a regular meeting on Thursday, marking the final stages of the checks, the Nikkei said. 

The reactors are expected to be restarted in July or later, the Nikkei report said.

The regulators seemed to be satisfied with the headway made on countermeasures against a quake at the plant run by Kyushu Electric Power Co, the daily said. 

New regulatory standards took effect in July, which regulators say reflect lessons learned from Japan’s worst nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The standards require significant improvements to quake and tsunami preparation in the quake-prone country.

The Fukushima plant suffered meltdowns at three of its six reactors after it was hit by the March 2011 quake and tsunami. 

On Monday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a news conference that the country would restart nuclear reactors that have cleared updated regulatory standards. 

All of Japan’s 48 reactors have been out of service amid public fears of nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster.

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