Yuhei Sato speaks out against govt's rush to restart reactors

April 13, 2012

Fukushima Gov. blasts gov't over push to restart nuclear reactors

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120413p2a00m0na014000c.html

FUKUSHIMA -- Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato, whose prefecture hosts the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, has spoken out against central government moves to restart reactors across the country idled for periodic maintenance.

"The investigation into the Fukushima No. 1 plant disaster isn't yet complete, but (the government) is already discussing restarting reactors. That is a problem," Sato told reporters at a regular news conference. "It makes me question whether the government really understands how severe nuclear disasters are.

"As the nuclear disaster progresses, we hear of new incidents every day," he added, referring to the frequent reports of spreading radioactive contamination and radioactive water leaks since the meltdowns at the No. 1 plant.

Sato also touched on the proposed new nuclear power regulatory agency, which was supposed to start work at the beginning of April but has not yet been launched, saying, "There's also a problem when the promotion of nuclear power is happening alongside the regulation of nuclear power, while the government has yet to present a long-term energy policy."