Town councillors in Oi, a community in Fukui
prefecture, have given the go-ahead for two nuclear reactors that the town
hosts to be restarted so as to protect local jobs.
But Oi
Mayor Shinobu Tokioka is not so sure about the move, given strong opposition
from neighbouring prefectures.
The two
reactors supply power to the Kansai area that is centred on the western city of
Osaka.
Asked
what will affect his decision, Tokioka told reporters on Monday: "The
understanding of the people in the Kansai area will be a big factor. If we
permit the reactors to be restarted now, Oi could be demonised."
He is
expected to make up his mind by the end of this month, after hearing the
appraisal of Fukui's nuclear safety commission.
For
weeks, the national government has tried to convince the Japanese people that
the Oi reactors are safe to operate after undergoing regular maintenance and
stress tests.
Industry
Minister Yukio Edano, whose ministry oversees nuclear energy, applauded the
town assembly's decision.
"I
think this is a sign that we are winning a certain degree of consent," he
said yesterday.
But the
Japanese people on the whole remain sceptical.
An NHK
nationwide poll showed that only 18 per cent of Japanese support the restarting
of the Oi reactors.
Some 26
per cent said all 50 reactors in Japan should be closed down for good.
Reports
said that in Oi itself, only about 60 per cent of its residents support
restarting the reactors.
Strong
opposition comes from neighbouring Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka prefectures.
The
outspoken Mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, has objected to the restarting of all
11 nuclear reactors owned by Kansai Electric Power, including the two in Oi. He
said he was not convinced by the stress test results.
Since
last year's tsunami sparked a nuclear crisis in Fukushima prefecture, some
200km north of Tokyo, heightened public concern over the safety of nuclear
power has prevented reactors shut down for maintenance from being restarted.
With a
scorching hot summer fast approaching, the Japanese government has drafted a
plan to get companies and individual consumers to save power once again.
Businesses
and individuals in the Kansai area will be obliged to cut power usage by 15 per
cent during peak hours, the highest in the country. Less affected areas may
still have to prepare for rolling blackouts to conserve power.
Nearly
45 per cent of the Kansai area's energy needs used to come from nuclear power.
Restarting
mothballed thermal power stations and getting companies to install their own
generators have done little in the past year to close the projected shortage in
the Kansai area in the month of August when air-conditioners are on full blast.
Analysts
have warned that a power crunch could impact Japanese industry adversely.
"Power
saving may prompt more businesses to transfer their operations outside Japan if
their operating costs go up," said Takeshi Kaneda, an expert on energy
policy who heads his own research institute.
Kwan
Weng Kin
The
Straits Times
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