abe said today to restart safe nuke plants

IMO, Ukraine crisis surely will speed up Japan's restart of the 48 nuclear reactors. If US and it allies impose economic sanctions on Russia, Japan will lose its current 10% Gas import from Russia.

Kyodo News International March 10, 2014 8:46pm

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday Japan will restart nuclear reactors that are confirmed safe by regulators, speaking ahead of the third anniversary Tuesday of the massive earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima crisis.

In remarks in parliament, Abe again expressed desire to bring commercial reactors back online once they clear new safety rules, despite deep public concerns and protests following the meltdown at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

"I would like to restart (reactors) confirmed safe by strict standards introduced by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, while winning local people's understanding," Abe told a session of the House of Councillors' Budget Committee.

The comment came a day before Japan marks the third anniversary of the March 11, 2011 disasters. At the Fukushima plant, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. is still struggling to contain the negative impact from the accident on the area, including a massive amount of radioactive water that is growing daily at the plant site.

"We are entering a fourth year (following the disasters). I want to make this a year in which (people) can achieve more reconstruction than before," Abe said.

The government has continued to spend on public works projects in the devastated areas, including building huge coastal levees that have led locals to raise concerns about the potential adverse effect on the scenery and fisheries industry.

Abe said he will listen carefully to local people while also working closely with local governments on reconstruction issues, adding that the central government may consider revising the plans if necessary.

The premier also said he will attend the U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, slated for March 2015 in Sendai, one of the cities seriously affected by the earthquake.

On Japan's energy policy, Abe said, "It is most important to forge a responsible energy policy that will prevent any trouble for people's lives and economic activity."

"It is our basic premise to ensure (nuclear) safety by taking into account the lessons learned from" the Fukushima crisis, Abe said, while calling for "constructive discussions" with opposition parties on issues such as how much the country can depend on atomic power in the future.

All of Japan's 48 commercial reactors are currently offline amid safety concerns, but it is widely believed some of them will satisfy the new nuclear regulations and be allowed to resume operation possibly later this year.

Before the Fukushima crisis, around 30 percent of the country's total electricity was supplied by nuclear power. In fiscal 2012, which ended March 2013, nuclear power accounted for only 1.7 percent, with thermal power generation making up the shortfall.

==Kyodo