Takahama restart approved by Assembly

March 20, 2015

Takahama Municipal Assembly approves restart of local nuclear plant

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150320p2a00m0na014000c.html

TAKAHAMA, Fukui -- The municipal assembly here agreed on March 20 to approve the restart of two idled reactors at the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant.

The Takahama Municipal Assembly reported its decision to Mayor Yutaka Nose later in the day. "We'd like to keep in mind the assembly's move as an important factor in deciding on the issue," Mayor Nose said.

The mayor will notify the Fukui Prefectural Government of the town's position on the issue after the April 12 Fukui gubernatorial and prefectural assembly elections.

After deliberations on the issue at the prefectural assembly, Gov. Issei Nishikawa will make a final decision on whether to endorse resumption of operations at the No. 3 and 4 units at the Takahama plant.

Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), operator of the atomic power station, expects that it will reactivate the plant in November this year.

Assembly Speaker Teruo Matoba proposed in a meeting held behind closed doors on March 20 that the 14-seat assembly approve KEPCO's plan to restart the plant. A majority of its members were in favor of the speaker's proposal.

On March 4, the assembly adopted two petitions calling for restarting the nuclear plant while rejecting three others against reactivation. The assembly has also voted to urge the central government to approve early resumption of operations at the plant's two reactors.

The national government's Nuclear Regulation Authority is still screening KEPCO's plan to modify the plant based on its safety measures and changes to safety regulations on the operation and management of the plant.