Japan local govt approves first reactor restart

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The final obstacle to restarting two nuclear reactors in Japan was removed yesterday when local politicians granted approval for a plant to go back online, more than three years after the Fukushima disaster.

The green light from the assembly and governor of Kagoshima prefecture, in the south of the country, marks a victory for the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which has faced public opposition to its drive to re-start nuclear power generation.

"I want to inform the economy, trade and industry minister about my understanding of the government's policy to push for restarting nuclear power plants," Governor Yuichiro Ito told a news conference, adding he had considered "various situations comprehensively".

Ito's finely parsed statement, which offers apparently reluctant support for a policy that is out of his hands, is typical of Japanese politicians dealing with the hot potato of nuclear power in a country now largely hostile to it.

The local go-ahead came after the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said in September it believed the two units at Sendai met toughened safety standards introduced after the Fukushima accident in 2011.

The actual restart, however, is likely to be delayed until next year as technical procedures are still under way, including more NRA approvals for remedial work at the site.

Japan's entire stable of nuclear power stations were gradually switched off after the tsunami-sparked catastrophe at Fukushima, when the breakdown of cooling systems sent reactors into meltdown, setting off the worst atomic accident in a generation.