Mayor of Hokkaido Village Agrees to N-Plant Restart

Sapporo, Nov. 18 (Jiji Press)–The mayor of the village of Tomari in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido has indicated his plan to approve the restart of the No. 3 reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari nuclear power plant. Tomari became the first municipality that has indicated its stance among the five local governments–the prefecture of Hokkaido and the four municipalities hosting or located near the plant–to which the central government made a request in August for understanding of the resumption of the reactor’s operations. At a village assembly meeting on Monday, Tomari Mayor Tetsunori Takahashi said that while prioritizing safety above all, “We intend to express our consent to the restart as the host village.” As reasons for his decision, the mayor cited the village assembly’s approval of the restart and the fact that broad understanding has been gained from residents. The focus is now on whether consent can be obtained from the three surrounding municipalities and the prefecture. The assemblies of the town of Kyowa, the town of Iwanai and the village of Kamoenai have adopted petitions submitted by local economic organizations calling for an early resumption of the reactor’s operations. The prefectural and municipal heads are expected to unveil their decisions soon. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]