In Japan, leaders of local governments in eastern Japan, who had been relatively cautious about restarting nuclear power plants, have one after another announced policies to accept resuming operations.
According to local media including the Yomiuri Shimbun and Nikkei on the 29th, Hokkaido Gov. Suzuki Naomichi said at the prefectural assembly the previous day that he believes "utilizing nuclear power is a realistic option that can be taken for the time being," and said he would consent to resuming operations of Tomari Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3.
The Yomiuri reported this was the first time Gov. Suzuki had expressed a positive stance on restarting the Tomari plant. Suzuki said the Tomari plant meets the new regulatory standards established by the Japanese government after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011, and cited the outlook for lower electricity rates within Hokkaido as a reason to allow the restart.
Suzuki also noted that with a semiconductor company Rapidus plant and data centers newly built, increasing power demand was taken into account and that nuclear power, a decarbonized power source, could contribute to economic growth.
As early as early next month, Suzuki plans to inspect the Tomari plant to check safety measures and meet with the heads of basic local governments around the plant. Suzuki is expected to finalize a position on the restart of the Tomari plant by the 12th of next month, when the prefectural assembly session ends.
Tomari Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 is located about 70 kilometers in a straight line from Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido.
It began operations in Dec. 2009 and was regarded as one of Japan's newest nuclear plants. However, operations were halted in May 2012 after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Hokkaido Electric Power is pushing to bring Tomari Unit 3 back online in 2027 and envisions resuming operations of Units 1 and 2 in the 2030s.
Earlier, on the 21st, Niigata Gov. Hanazumi Hideo in central Honshu also said he would accept the restart of Tokyo Electric Power's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant.
The plant drew major attention as the first facility that Tokyo Electric Power pushed to restart after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Tokyo Electric Power is the operator of Fukushima Daiichi.
When dividing Japan into eastern and western Japan, the geographic standard is usually a line running longitudinally near the middle of the largest island, Honshu. Niigata and Hokkaido are both in eastern Japan.
Before the Great East Japan Earthquake, 54 reactors were operating in Japan. But after the Fukushima Daiichi accident, all nuclear plants were halted for a time, and some later restarted, leaving 14 reactors currently in commercial operation. Of those, only one is in eastern Japan: Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 in Miyagi in northeastern Honshu.
The Nikkei said, "The use of nuclear power, which had lagged in eastern Japan, has now made progress," adding that the importance of nuclear power is growing as Japan's electricity demand is expected to rise 6% in 10 years.
However, the Yomiuri pointed out that Hokkaido Electric Power has not operated a nuclear plant for 13 years, and a lack of staff experience could be a challenge. Yamamoto Kentaro, a professor at Kokugakuin University, told the Yomiuri that "careful responses are required to ensure the effectiveness of safety measures and evacuation plans."