Local governments want their say

January 5, 2015

Almost the same article in the Japan Times on two runnning days:

Local governments want bigger say in restarting reactors

Kyodo

Only about 20 percent of 160 prefectural and municipal governments that host or are located near nuclear plants support how Kyushu Electric Power Co. went about getting the go-ahead for restarting its reactors in Kagoshima Prefecture.

Kyushu Electric won consent in November from the Kagoshima Prefectural Government and the city of Satsumasendai for the restart of two reactors at its Sendai plant. As a result, they will likely become the first of the country’s 48 offline commercial reactors to resume operations.

In a survey by Kyodo News on 21 prefectures and 139 municipalities that are located within 30 km of a reactor, only 35 said the procedure adopted by Kyushu Electric — seeking the consent of just the host prefecture and host municipality — was appropriate.

While 55 municipalities, or about 30 percent, said the utility’s methods were inappropriate, 70 avoided giving a clear-cut answer. None of these 55 municipalities directly host reactors.

Although the central government appears to back the way Kyushu Electric sought approval only from the host prefecture and municipality, the survey suggests that many municipalities near offline nuclear plants do not favor such a narrow approach.

Amid lingering safety concerns over nuclear power following the Fukushima No. 1 disaster in 2011, the number of cities calling for nearby municipalities to have a say in the decision-making process outnumbered those stating that only those directly hosting reactors should be involved.

The two reactors at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture could be brought back online as early as this spring.

January 4, 2014

Poll shows local governments split on how to restart nuclear reactors

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/04/national/poll-shows-local-governments-split-on-how-to-restart-nuclear-reactors/#.VKmxr3t1Cic

Kyodo

Only about 20 percent of 160 prefectural and municipal governments that host or are located near nuclear plants support how a utility company in Kagoshima Prefecture went about getting the go-ahead for restarting its nuclear reactors, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday.

In November, Kyushu Electric Power Co. won consent from the Kagoshima Prefectural Government and the city of Satsumasendai for the restart of two nuclear reactors at its Sendai plant in the prefecture, which means the two reactors will become the first of the country’s 48 offline commercial reactors to resume operation.

In a survey conducted on 21 prefectures and 139 municipalities that are located within a 30-km radius of nuclear reactors, only 35 said the procedure adopted by Kyushu Electric — seeking the consent only of the host prefecture and host municipality — was appropriate.

While 55 municipalities or about 30 percent said the method taken by Kyushu Electric at the Sendai plant was not appropriate, 70 avoided clear-cut answers, including those that said they do not know.

None of the 55 municipalities host nuclear reactors.

Although the central government appears to back the way Kyushu Electric limited seeking approval to only the host prefecture and municipality concerned, the survey suggests that many municipalities near offline nuclear plants do not necessarily favor such a narrow approach.

Amid lingering safety concerns over the restart of nuclear reactors following the Fukushima No. 1 disaster in 2011, the number of municipalities calling for those within a 30-km radius of nuclear reactors to participate in the decision-making process outnumbered those stating that only those hosting reactors should be entitled to give the green light to the resumption of operations.

The two nuclear reactors at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture are expected to go back online this spring or later