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| Three Years After Disaster, Japan Declares Nuclear Plant Safe to Operate | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| TOKYO — For the first time since the Fukushima disaster three years ago, Japan’s new nuclear regulatory agency declared Wednesday that an atomic power plant was safe to operate, in a widely watched move that brings Japan a step closer to restarting its idled nuclear industry. | TOKYO — For the first time since the Fukushima disaster three years ago, Japan’s new nuclear regulatory agency declared Wednesday that an atomic power plant was safe to operate, in a widely watched move that brings Japan a step closer to restarting its idled nuclear industry. |
| The two reactors at the Sendai power plant on the southern island of Kyushu are the first to be certified as safe enough to restart by the Nuclear Regulation Authority since the agency was created two years ago to restore public confidence in nuclear oversight. All of Japan’s 48 operable commercial nuclear reactors were shut down after the March 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station created serious public doubts about the safety of atomic power in earthquake-prone Japan. | The two reactors at the Sendai power plant on the southern island of Kyushu are the first to be certified as safe enough to restart by the Nuclear Regulation Authority since the agency was created two years ago to restore public confidence in nuclear oversight. All of Japan’s 48 operable commercial nuclear reactors were shut down after the March 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station created serious public doubts about the safety of atomic power in earthquake-prone Japan. |
| Even with the approval, it will still likely be months before either of the reactors can be turned back on. In addition to further safety checks, the plant’s operator, Kyushu Electric Power Company, must also obtain the consent of local governments around the plant. The final decision on whether to restart the plant will be made by the prime minister, probably in December, according to local news media reports. | Even with the approval, it will still likely be months before either of the reactors can be turned back on. In addition to further safety checks, the plant’s operator, Kyushu Electric Power Company, must also obtain the consent of local governments around the plant. The final decision on whether to restart the plant will be made by the prime minister, probably in December, according to local news media reports. |
| The approval follows intense political pressure on the new agency by the government of the current prime minister, Shinzo Abe, a pro-big business leader who wants to restore atomic energy as part of his strategy to revive the nation’s long anemic economy. He also wants to turn the plants back on in order to end Japan’s ballooning trade deficits, which many here blame on the rising cost of imported fuel to make up for the loss of nuclear-generated electricity. | The approval follows intense political pressure on the new agency by the government of the current prime minister, Shinzo Abe, a pro-big business leader who wants to restore atomic energy as part of his strategy to revive the nation’s long anemic economy. He also wants to turn the plants back on in order to end Japan’s ballooning trade deficits, which many here blame on the rising cost of imported fuel to make up for the loss of nuclear-generated electricity. |
| However, opinion polls have shown that the public remains skeptical about both the safety of the plants and the ability to ensure that safety by Mr. Abe’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, which has long had close ties to the politically powerful nuclear industry. Those doubts were aired last month, during a monthlong public comment period after the agency released a draft report in July that expressed approval of the Sendai plant’s safety measures. | However, opinion polls have shown that the public remains skeptical about both the safety of the plants and the ability to ensure that safety by Mr. Abe’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, which has long had close ties to the politically powerful nuclear industry. Those doubts were aired last month, during a monthlong public comment period after the agency released a draft report in July that expressed approval of the Sendai plant’s safety measures. |
| The agency said it received 17,800 comments, more than it expected. Many were highly skeptical about the safety of the Sendai plant, which is located in a volcanically active area. Still, the agency on Wednesday ended up adopting its July findings without major modifications. | The agency said it received 17,800 comments, more than it expected. Many were highly skeptical about the safety of the Sendai plant, which is located in a volcanically active area. Still, the agency on Wednesday ended up adopting its July findings without major modifications. |
| In a news release, the agency said it had made the decision after reviewing 18,600 pages of supporting documents filed by Kyushu Electric, as well as the results of its own inspections of the plant. It said the design and construction of the reactors and other facilities, and also the contingency plans for dealing with emergencies, met new safety standards that the agency adopted in July of last year. | In a news release, the agency said it had made the decision after reviewing 18,600 pages of supporting documents filed by Kyushu Electric, as well as the results of its own inspections of the plant. It said the design and construction of the reactors and other facilities, and also the contingency plans for dealing with emergencies, met new safety standards that the agency adopted in July of last year. |
| “I think the huge number of public comments, more than anything, reflects the enormous sensitivity toward the restart question, and the safety of nuclear power,” Kenzo Oshima, a commissioner at the agency, told reporters. “I also see it as reflecting a strong desire after the Fukushima accident to learn from that experience and raise the level of safety.” | “I think the huge number of public comments, more than anything, reflects the enormous sensitivity toward the restart question, and the safety of nuclear power,” Kenzo Oshima, a commissioner at the agency, told reporters. “I also see it as reflecting a strong desire after the Fukushima accident to learn from that experience and raise the level of safety.” |
| Agency officials have sought to reassure the public by calling their new safety standards the most stringent in the world, saying they fully incorporate the lessons of the Fukushima disaster, which was caused when an earthquake and tsunami knocked out vital cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. | |
| Opponents of the restart faulted the agency for ignoring the concerns raised in the public comments. They said the agency, which had started amid high hopes for more independent oversight of the nuclear industry, was looking more and more like a rubber stamp for the current administration. | Opponents of the restart faulted the agency for ignoring the concerns raised in the public comments. They said the agency, which had started amid high hopes for more independent oversight of the nuclear industry, was looking more and more like a rubber stamp for the current administration. |
| “There was clearly huge pressure on the regulatory agency from the Abe government,” said Akira Kimura, a professor of peace studies at Kagoshima University who has been involved in efforts to block the restart of the Sendai plant. “This government is just ramming through its agenda, with complete disregard for the public will.” | “There was clearly huge pressure on the regulatory agency from the Abe government,” said Akira Kimura, a professor of peace studies at Kagoshima University who has been involved in efforts to block the restart of the Sendai plant. “This government is just ramming through its agenda, with complete disregard for the public will.” |