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Restart
of Ohi Reactor Units 3 and 4
Kansai Electric's Ohi Unit 3 (PWR
1,180 MW) was reactivated on July 1. Electrical power generation began
on July 5, and commercial operation started from August 3. Also at Ohi,
Unit 4 (PWR 1,180 MW) was reactivated on July 18, started electrical
power generation on July 21, and commercial operation on August 16.
During this time there were successive occurrences of various kinds of
problems on the site, but nothing very serious. Scheduled inspections
are required by law after thirteen months of operation, but governors
in the Kansai area say that once the peak summer demand for power is
over the reactors should be shut down. Moreover, as this long summer of
intense heat continues, it has become clear that the electrical supply
from Ohi Units 3 and 4 was not actually needed.
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Government
Presents Twelve Candidate Areas for Contaminated Soil Storage from
Decontamination Work
On August 19, the government
presented to towns in the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant, Okuma and Futaba Towns, and Naraha Town, nearby Fukushima
Daini NPP, twelve candidate locations to be investigated as “mid-term
storage facilities” for contaminated soil from the decontamination work
in the prefecture. Plans exist to dispose of waste and incinerated ash
from the earthquake disaster at the industrial waste disposal facility
in Tomioka Town, where Fukushima Daini NPP is located. There is strong
resistance from each of the towns, and whether or not an investigation
will take place is uncertain. Moreover, according to a television
broadcast on August 27, the town of Minami Osumi in Kagoshima
Prefecture became a candidate for a final disposal site after “mid-term
storage,” and voices of opposition are rising from the surrounding
cities and towns.
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Shizuoka Prefecture Citizens’ Referendum
Request on Hamaoka Nuclear Plant Restart
On August 27, a request from a citizens’ movement with
160,000 attached signatures to enact a prefectural referendum ordinance
on the question of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant restart was handed
directly to Heita Kawakatsu, the prefectural governor of Shizuoka.
Similar requests were made to the Tokyo governor and Osaka mayor, who
both opposed referenda, which were also rejected in the assemblies. On
September 19, Governor Kawakatsu submitted the proposal for the
ordinance to the Prefectural Assembly, attaching his argument for
enactment of the ordinance. However, his party holds only a minority in
the assembly and the chances of approval are low.
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Nuclear Abolition Law,
Proposal in Parliament
On September 7, a proposal from 13
Diet members for a nuclear phaseout was submitted to the Lower House.
Stipulations include no new construction of nuclear plants,
decommissioning after forty years of operation, and decommissioning of
all plants at the latest in the 2020 to 2025 period. The outlook during
the current parliament is unfavorable, but since the proposal is likely
to become a point of contention in the upcoming Lower House election,
one aim of the proposal is to increase the number of Diet members who
support such a nuclear phaseout.
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“Innovative Energy
and Environment Strategy” Announced
On September 14, the “Innovative Energy and
Environment Strategy” was announced following a decision by the
Cabinet-formed Energy and Environment Conference. The Strategy included
wording such as “zero operating nuclear plants,” which the Japan
Business Federation fiercely opposed, and a planned Cabinet decision
did not take place. While the September 19 Cabinet meeting was based on
the contents of the Strategy, the Strategy itself was not the subject
of a decision, and it was simply decided “to have responsible
discussions with related municipalities and the international
community, gain the understanding of the public, and to accomplish this
with flexibility, and continual verification and revision.” Uncertainty
also marks the contents of “zero nuclear plant operation,” which is
referenced as “we will employ all policy resources required to make
zero nuclear plant operation a possibility in the 2030s.” Also included
is a continuation of the contradictory reprocessing efforts. Having
once decided on the “Strategy for a National Debate,” it is impossible
to ignore the voices of the overwhelming majority of citizens, who have
demanded realization of the “zero option.” At the same time, the
business world and municipalities with nuclear facilities also have
intentions that cannot be ignored. The Strategy has thus become
incoherent, and the fact that it was not finalized by a Cabinet
decision only serves to increase misunderstanding.
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Nuclear Safety Commission Finally
Inaugurated
On September 19, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
was inaugurated, and the nuclear regulatory arm finally achieved
independence from METI. Even so, the Commission got off to a
highly irregular start with the Prime Minister personally appointing
the committee chairman and committee members without the agreement of
both the Upper and Lower House. There is also strong opposition
regarding the committee chairman and two of the committee members, who
have just resigned from organizations that they will now have to
regulate, and it was not possible to reach agreement on this. The
Nuclear Regulatory Commission began activities together with its new
secretariat, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority, of which about 350 of
the 460 workers have largely moved in a group from NISA’s nuclear
regulatory section, and it is thought uncertain that the Authority will
be able to instigate a regulatory administration differing from that of
the past.
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