Japan delays restart of 4 nuke reactors due to Kobe Steel scandal

TOKYO, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Nuclear plant operators in Japan announced on Thursday that they will delay the restart of four reactors to confirm whether the reactors used products affected by Kobe Steel Ltd.'s data falsification scandal.

The four reactors are the No. 3 and No. 4 units at Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture operated by Kansai Electric Power Co., and the No. 3 and No. 4 units at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture operated by Kyushu Electric Power Co.

Kansai Electric Power Co. said on Thursday that the restart of the two units at Oi plant, originally scheduled in January and March next year, would be postponed to March and May respectively.

Kyushu Electric Power also said that it was planning to delay the restart of the No. 3 and No.4 units at the Genkai plant for about two months.

Kobe Steel Ltd., Japan's third largest steelmaker, admitted in October that some of its aluminum and copper products among others were subjected to data fabrication in the past few years.

More than 500 companies have been found using the problematic products in cars, Shinkansen bullet trains, and even rockets and defense equipment. Enditem