Japan to return to nuclear power after 2-year hiatus

TOKYO: Japan will Tuesday begin restarting its nuclear power program, officials said, after a two-year shutdown sparked by public fears following the Fukushima crisis. The restart comes more than four years after a quake-sparked tsunami triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima plant, prompting the shutdown of Japan’s stable of reactors in the world’s worst atomic crisis in a generation. Resource-poor Japan, which once relied on nuclear power for a quarter of its electricity, restarted two reactors temporarily to feed its needs. But they both went offline by September 2013, making it completely nuclear-free for about two years. Japan has ushered in tougher safety rules to avoid a repeat of Fukushima, including more backup prevention measures and higher tsunami-blocking walls in areas most susceptible to them. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keen to get some of about four dozen reactors back up and running. So are the power companies that own them, fed up with having to make up lost generating capacity with pricey fossil fuels. “It is important for the country’s energy policy that the government go ahead with reactor restarts once they are confirmed as safe,” top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters Monday. “The biggest priority is safety.” The reactor No. 1 at the Sendai nuclear plant, nearly 1,000 km southwest of Tokyo, has been loaded with atomic fuel. Its operator announced Monday the reactor would be switched on by 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) Tuesday. The 31-year-old reactor was expected to reach full capacity by “around 11:00 pm” Tuesday and would start generating power by Friday. But regular operations would not begin until early September, a Kyushu Electric Power spokeswoman said. Japan’s people are skeptical and the country remains deeply scarred by Fukushima, which forced tens of thousands of people from their homes — many of whom will likely never return. On Monday about 400 protesters rallied in front of the Sendai plant, which is on the southern tip of Japan’s Kyushu island. -arabnews