Japan restarts first reactor since Fukushima disaster

A power plant operator in southern Japan has restarted a reactor, the first to begin operating under new safety requirements following the Fukushima disaster.

Kyushu Electric Power Co said yesterday that it will restart the No 1 reactor at its Sendai nuclear plant this morning.

All of Japan’s 48 reactors were put offline following the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which suffered a triple meltdown after it was hit by a magnitude-9 quake and tsunami.

Protesters rallied outside Japan’s Sendai nuclear plant a day ahead of its planned opening and four years after the Fukushima disaster galvanised opposition to nuclear power in the country. The Japanese government also wants as many of them as possible to be restarted to reduce the country’s dependence on imported energy, AP reported.

The public remains nervous in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, which was triggered by an quake and tsunami.

“Prime Minister Abe and the nuclear regulator are risking Japan’s safety for an energy source that will likely fail to provide the electricity the nation will need in the years ahead”.

Nevertheless, opinion polls show a majority of the Japanese public oppose the return to nuclear energy.

Two reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama plant are seen as the next candidates for resumption after obtaining safety clearance from the Nuclear Regulation Authority in February. The plans call for the 2nd reactor to be restarted in October.

Despite the NRA’s seal of approval for Sendai-1, critics say there are many unanswered questions, especially concerning the many active volcanos near the Sendai plant site.

“We will continue to seriously and carefully cooperate with the country’s inspections, making safety our top priority, cautiously advancing the restart process”, the company said in a statement Monday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for the restarting of the reactor in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture.

Of Japan’s 25 reactors at 15 plants, only five at three plants have been permitted to restart.

“I wonder what we have learnt from Fukushima”, said local politician Kazuya Tanaka, who represents about 30,000 people.

“Restarting nuclear plants that have been confirmed safe is important in our energy policy”, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday.

Japan’s 43 reactors have been mothballed for the last two years since the Fukishima incident as part of an effort to address safety concerns.

With its nuclear gasoline recycling program nonetheless stalled and plutonium stockpiles triggering worldwide considerations, Japan is beneath strain to make use of as a lot of the stockpiles as potential in its reactors.