Japan green lights restarting of 3rd reactor as gov't eyes 2030 power target

The governor of Ehime Prefecture in western Japan on Monday decided to green light the restart of one the reactors at the Ikata nuclear power plant in the prefecture, as the government continues its push to bring the reactors idled in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima calamity back online once they've passed stringent safety checks.

Governor Tokihiro Nakamura told the president of Shikoku Electric Power Company that it was ok for the utility to go ahead and restart its No. 3 reactor since it passed the Nuclear Regulation Authority's (NRA) safety screening process in July.

Pending some outstanding procedures and garnering more public support, the reactor is likely to be restarted sometime after January 2016, the utility said.

The NRA, for its part, noted that as the utility works on securing more local support, as both the mayor of Ikata town and the local assemblies have already signed off on the restart, the reactor's restart will go ahead as long as new designs of equipment have been inspected and approved.

The NRA thus far has signed off on the restarting of five reactors across Japan in line with their stricter screening protocols that were introduced following the earthquake and tsunami-triggered multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011 -- a cataclysmic disaster that remains the worst commercial nuclear accident in history.

Two reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s nuclear facility in Kagoshima Prefecture were restarted in August and October, kickstarting the government's pledge to improve its balance sheet by bringing more reactors back online and importing less fossil fuels, which have been used during the nuclear power hiatus here to fuel regular power plants.

The government has been forced to spend an inordinate amount of its budget on importing fossil fuels, with the prices pushed up due to a comparatively weak yen, to generate power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster that resulted in all of Japan's commercial reactors being taken off line for stricter safety checks and upgrades.

But the government has stood firm on its intentions to resume nuclear power generation, despite a public backlash and a two-year nuclear power interlude.

The government has said that plants that pass the nuclear watchdog's rigorous safety standards will be brought back online, as part of the government's plans to generate more than 20 percent of the nation's electricity supply from nuclear power by 2030, compared to around 30 percent before the Fukushima disaster, with the drive also underscored by new environmental quotas.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Japan's top government spokesperson, has maintained the government hasn't altered its policy position of proceeding with the restart of reactors that are approved by the NRA.

Following Shikoku Electric Power Company's restart, the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, in the Chubu region on Honshu island, have also been highlighted as likely candidates to soon be given the nod by the NRA to resume operations, followed by Kyushu Electric Power's resumption of operations of its No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at its Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, in Kyushu.

But post-Fukushima antinuclear sentiment is still rife across the country and, coupled with the government's recent move to unilaterally expand the country's military role, has seen the government's support rate negatively impacted.

Media polls continue to show that the majority of Japanese citizens still oppose the restart of the nation's reactors and this, along with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's contentious war moves, continues to weigh heavily on his support rate. Enditem