Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Masked workers in protective outfits prepare to drop one of sliding concrete slabs into a slit of the upper part of the sluice screen for Unit 2 reactor, Fukushima. AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co
Japan

Japan to 'stress test' all nuclear reactors

More than two-thirds of Japan’s reactors remain offline following the nuclear crisis sparked last May.

JAPAN WILL CONDUCT “stress tests” on all the country’s nuclear plants to ease heightened concerns about disaster preparedness after this year’s tsunami sparked the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

The 11 March earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan knocked out power at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, sending it toward meltdown in a crisis that engineers are still struggling to contain. The plant operator has come under heavy criticism for failing to sufficiently prepare for the disasters.

Speaking in Tokyo today, Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said: “We need to conduct stress tests as soon as possible so we can have a better sense of safety. We must put priority on testing reactors that are preparing to restart,” reports Bloomberg.

The government already ordered exhaustive safety checks on all the country’s 54 nuclear reactors following the disaster, and it was not immediately clear what additional measures would be added by the stress tests.

Officials provided few details, however Kaieda said the new safety checks will gauge the facilities’ defenses against extreme events like big earthquakes.

“There is no change in our view that it is safe,” Kaieda said, adding that the tests are intended to offer more reassurance to local residents.

Two-thirds of reactors remain offline

More than two-thirds of Japan’s reactors remain offline. Utilities with plants that were shut down for safety reviews after the crisis or that already had been offline due to routine maintenance have been reluctant to restart them because of public anxiety and anti-nuclear protests.

A major on the southwest island of Kyushu last week endorsed the resumption of operations at two nuclear reactors in his city, Genkai, in what would be the first restart of idled plants since the Fukushima crisis. But the latest announcement is likely to delay that process.

The governor of Saga prefecture, where Genkai is located, has yet to add his own approval. He said Wednesday that he would hold off on making a final decision until results of the new test became available, according to Kyodo News agency.

Kaieda said Japan’s stress tests will incorporate elements from those ordered by the European Union on the 143 nuclear plants in that region after the Fukushima crisis.

Those reviews, which started 1 June, are supposed to consider the impact of both natural and man-made events such as airplane crashes and terrorist attacks.

Germany has vowed to abandon nuclear power by 2022 in wake of the Fukushima disaster.

Kaieda said Japan’s stress tests also will include ideas from Japanese regulators and local residents.

Nuclear power generates about 30 percent of Japan’s electricity. If nuclear reactors currently shut for maintenance face delays in resuming operations, the country could face a power shortfall in the months ahead. But Kaieda played down such worries.

“I will take responsibility to ensure that there are no power supply problems,” he said.

Additional reporting by the AP

Read more: EU’s 143 nuclear power stations to undergo stress testing – voluntarily >

Read more: Germany to ditch nuclear power by 2022 >

Your Voice
Readers Comments
2
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.