Niigata Governor Tolerates Restart of TEPCO N-Power Plant

Niigata, Nov. 21 (Jiji Press)–Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi indicated Friday that he will accept the restart of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in the central Japan prefecture. Announcing his stance at an extraordinary press conference, Hanazumi called on the central government to make sure that seven steps are taken, including further improving safety at the plant. With the Niigata prefectural assembly, which is scheduled to convene Dec. 2, also expected to greenlight the move, all local procedures needed for the restart will be completed by year-end. “Niigata Prefecture will agree (to the restart) after receiving assurances” from the central government on the seven steps, Hanazumi told the press conference. He said that he will confirm the wishes of prefectural residents regarding the move by asking the prefectural assembly to indicate confidence or no confidence in him regarding continuing his duties as governor. Hanazumi said he would be ready to step down if he cannot gain the confidence of the assembly. Pointing out that more residents tended to express positive views on a restart of the nuclear plant the more they were aware of safety and disaster prevention measures, Hanazumi said that he “judged that more people would show understanding if efforts to provide and spread accurate information are continued.” “It’s difficult to continue halting without reasonable grounds a reactor that has cleared new regulatory standards,” the governor said, adding, “I believe many safety measures have been implemented based on lessons and insights” gained through the March 2011 severe accident at TEPCO’s tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. It would be the first time for a TEPCO reactor to be restarted since the Fukushima No. 1 plant accident. Operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant will be restarted within the current fiscal year, which ends next March, if pre-service checks and other procedures go smoothly, according to informed sources. All seven reactors at the plant, which straddles the city of Kashiwazaki and the village of Kariwa, have been offline since March 2012. Of them, the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors have passed the Nuclear Regulation Authority screenings necessary for their restart. Technical preparations for the No. 6 reactor were completed last month, leaving its possible restart up to a decision by the prefectural governor. The prefectural government will submit a draft budget related to the Kashiwazaki-Kaiwa plant restart to the prefectural assembly’s regular session next month. The central government said in August that it would make municipalities within 30 kilometers of nuclear power plants eligible for related financial assistance, widening the area from 10 km in a bid to gain understanding for a possible reactor restart. It said last month that the state will fully cover costs to set up evacuation routes. Reflecting the wishes of local residents, TEPCO has said that it will consider decommissioning the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant’s aging No. 1 and No. 2 reactors. The company also announced a plan to contribute about 100 billion yen to support the creation of new businesses and jobs in Niigata Prefecture. Public opinion over the plant’s restart remains divided in the prefecture, however. According to a recent survey conducted by the prefectural government, 50 pct of residents were positive about the restart, against 47 pct who were negative. In four of the nine municipalities within a 30 km radius of the plant, over half of residents showed a negative opinion about the restart. “It’s difficult to gauge when public understanding has spread sufficiently,” Hanazumi said, noting that more than a year and a half has passed since the government asked the prefecture to allow the plant’s restart. He called on TEPCO to “make as many efforts as possible to regain trust.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]