Asia-Pacific

Japan nuke restart in doubt as test plan backfires

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-07-07 13:33

TOKYO - The first restart of Japanese nuclear reactors since the March 11 earthquake triggered a radiation crisis was thrown into doubt on Thursday after a government bid to reassure a sceptical public by ordering stress tests on all reactors backfired.

Related readings: 2 nuclear reactors in southwestern Japan to restart

The announcement of tests provoked a furious response from the mayor of the southern town of Genkai, who had accepted earlier safety assurances, prompting him to reverse his decision to allow the restart of two reactors at a local plant.

His stance makes it uncertain if other utilities will be able to bring reactors back on line quickly after shutting them for mandatory safety checks scheduled well into next year.

Failure to restart reactors raises the prospect of further power supply disruptions that would be a blow to Japanese industry, which is already staggering production schedules due to power shortages in other parts of the country.

The government has been reviewing its energy policy to reduce the nation's reliance on nuclear energy but says restarting reactors is essential to meet peak energy demand, and hoped the tests would lessen public mistrust of the nuclear industry.

"We have confirmed the safety of nuclear power plants in Saga, but I cannot deny that there are still some people who have doubts and concerns about safety," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

"We want the stress tests to serve as a reference point for restarting nuclear reactors. This is so the public can feel more safe and secure."

The tests will use simulations to confirm how well each reactor could withstand a severe event such as the March earthquake and tsunami.

Safety fears after the March events knocked out cooling systems at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, causing reactor meltdowns, have made local governments wary of agreeing to the restart of reactors shut for maintenance.

The government was relying on Genkai to set an example.  

Only 19 out of Japan's 54 reactors are now in operation and the trade and industry ministry, which manages the nuclear industry, is keen to get idled ones back on line to avoid power blackouts during the summer, when electricity demand peaks.

Wednesday's sudden announcement that the government was planning stress tests for all nuclear facilities caught local authorities off-guard and came under fire in media as the latest policy flip-flop by unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The mayor of Genkai, in Saga Prefecture, had given the green light for a restart that would have brought all four reactors at the 36-year-old plant on line, after assurances from the government that they were safe.

But the town has now reversed course.

"Prime Minister Kan made a statement suggesting that stress tests are necessary for reactor restarts," said Genkai Mayor Hideo Kishimoto.

"This made me feel my decision (consenting to a restart) was meaningless, and I feel furious about it. I want to withdraw my consent, if the town assembly agrees."

Yasushi Furukawa, governor of Saga prefecture, also slammed Kan for lacking a consistent policy on restarting reactors.

The governor's consent, along with that of the Genkai mayor and a neighboring town in the immediate vicinity of the plant is needed for the reactors to resume operation.