Fukui's governor allows three aging reactors to continue operations
Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto on Monday effectively gave the green light for the continued operations of three aging nuclear reactors in the prefecture from next fiscal year.
Sugimoto approved Kansai Electric Power's revised roadmap for shipping spent nuclear fuel from the No. 3 reactor at the Mihama nuclear plant and the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the Takahama plant.
The plant operator had said it would halt reactor operations if it failed to gain the prefecture's understanding for the roadmap by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends this month. All three reactors have been in operation for more than 40 years.
On Monday, the Fukui governor spoke with industry minister Yoji Muto online after meeting with Kansai Electric President Nozomu Mori at the prefectural office earlier in the day.
Sugimoto urged Mori and Muto to steadily implement the roadmap and promote regional development in the municipalities where the nuclear reactors are located.
"It is my duty to steadily transport (spent nuclear fuel) out (of the nuclear plants) and reduce the amount stored" at the plants, Mori said. "I will continue to do all I can."
The Kansai Electric president also mentioned plans for a new framework to continue providing funds for regional development.
"The government will also work on this with responsibility," Muto said.
Sugimoto then expressed his support for the roadmap, saying it is "effective."
Kansai Electric presented Fukui Prefecture with the revised roadmap on Feb. 13, after Japan Nuclear Fuel delayed the completion of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant under construction in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture.
Under the roadmap, about 400 tons of spent fuel will be shipped to a French company for use in research, while 198 tons will be transported to the reprocessing plant, which is expected to be completed in fiscal 2026.
The Fukui government heard the opinions of three towns hosting nuclear plants in the prefecture and the prefectural assembly before deciding to approve the roadmap. The mayors of the towns — Mihama, Oi and Takahama — expressed understanding for it, while the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest group in the assembly, left the decision to the governor.
In the prefecture, however, there are persistent concerns that the roadmap could be derailed by another delay in the construction of the reprocessing plant, as its completion has been postponed 27 times so far.
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