nuclear-news

This weekend’s nuclear shutdown in Japan is being greeted with a mixture of anxiety and optimism, just over a year since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident signaled the beginning of the end of the country’s dependence on atomic energy. By May 6, the last of Japan’s 50 working reactors – another four were crippled in the disaster – will be offline when the Hokkaido Electric Power Companycloses the No. 3 unit at its Tomari plant in the far north, in the industry’s first enforced closure in Japan since 1965.

Debate is now swirling around the prospects for the economy and environment post-Fukushima, as Japan braces itself for a long, hot summer and the possibility of power cuts that could prove the most severe test of public resolve yet……… 

Public mood

Despite the risks, Mr. Edano and other government ministers have failed to persuade local authorities to restart two reactors at Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, situated in western Japan – the first to pass mandatory stress tests to gauge their ability to withstand disasters such as the tsunami that sent three of Fukushima Daiichi’s six reactors into meltdown. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda does not require local approval to order a restart, but the public mood is such that it will take a brave – or possibly reckless – politician to override residents. In a recent national poll by Kyodo News, almost 60 percent of Japanese citizens were opposed to restarting the Oi reactors, while 26.7 percent were in favor.

Significantly, the Mainichi Shimbun recently became the first major newspaper to come out in favor of ditching nuclear power. “The illusion of nuclear power safety has been torn out by the root,” it said in an editorial. “The Fukushima nuclear disaster that followed the great waves of 11 March last year made sure of that.”

Opposition from leaders representing areas served by the Oi plant have also made an immediate restart unlikely. “The first evaluation of the stress test is absolutely not sufficient grounds for restarting the Oi reactors,” Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto told reporters. “I’m totally against it. We are not even sure yet if there will be a power shortage this summer, or by how much.”……

a ministry panel believes that Japan can still reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels without nuclear, provided it makes energy savings and speeds up the adoption of renewables, which currently account for just 10 percent of the energy mix.

“A nuclear-free Japan is a safer Japan,” says Junichi Sato, executive director of GreenpeaceJapan. “To ensure a safe, secure and prosperous future, Japan must remain nuclear free by ditching atomic energy in favor of renewable energy.”

If Mr. Sato is right and Japan manages to brave the summer heat without power blackouts, the pressure to make the temporary nuclear shutdown permanent could be almost impossible to resis