Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Onagawa nuclear power plant has taken a giant step toward resuming its operations. The government should make progress in restarting other nuclear power plants step by step while confirming their safety.
Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai has expressed his intention to approve the restart of the No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa plant after holding talks with the mayors of the two municipalities in the prefecture that host the nuclear power plant -- the town of Onagawa and the city of Ishinomaki. It is commendable that the governor carefully compiled opinions based on the desires of the prefectural, town and city assemblies.
Tohoku Electric aims to restart the reactor in fiscal 2022 or later, when safety measures are set to be completed. Among the reactors affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa plant became the first to win restart approval from local municipalities. It is also significant from the viewpoint of a stable power supply.
The Onagawa plant has implemented various safety measures since the disaster. Tohoku Electric is building a seawall that reaches 29 meters above sea level, installing power-supply vehicles and conducting earthquake-resistance work at the plant. These efforts were recognized and the reactor passed the Nuclear Regulation Authority's safety screening.
However, there are many narrow, winding roads along the jagged coastline near the plant. Some residents are said to be worried about whether they will be able to evacuate smoothly in the event of an accident. It is important for the central government to continue improving evacuation measures in cooperation with local governments.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to virtually zero by 2050. Renewable energy sources, such as solar power, have the disadvantage of an unstable power output. Nuclear power plants, which do not emit carbon dioxide and can provide a stable supply of electricity, are increasingly important.
However, the restart of nuclear power plants has been interrupted since operations resumed at the Genkai plant's No. 4 reactor in Saga Prefecture in June 2018. Out of 33 reactors, excluding those that have been decommissioned since the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, only nine have resumed their operations.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture and Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture have passed safety screenings by the NRA. However, it remains to be seen when the two nuclear power plants will be able to win local municipalities' approval to resume their operations.
The Onagawa plant was hit by a tsunami about the same height as the one that struck the Fukushima No. 1 plant. But the main Onagawa facilities were not flooded because its grounds were 14.8 meters above sea level. There was a time when residents who lost their homes due to tsunami were taking shelter on the premises.
Given these circumstances, the nuclear power plant has become indispensable for residents' lives and the local economy. It is also necessary to continue steady efforts to win the understanding of local residents for the restart of other nuclear power plants.
Some other countries have been making intense efforts to actively utilize nuclear technology to develop a state-of-the-art small nuclear reactor. It is important for Japan to consider nuclear power as an effective means of combating global warming and strengthening industrial competitiveness and take a strategic approach to its use.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on Nov. 12, 2020.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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