Majority of Japanese Oppose Nuclear Plant Restart

Majority of Japanese Oppose Nuclear Plant Restart

A majority of Japanese are against the idea of restarting the nuclear power plants currently shut for maintenance, a survey by the Asahi newspaper showed on Tuesday, reflecting the people’s distrust towards atomic power after the 2011 tsunami-triggered nuclear crisis.

The government plans to restart some of the nuclear plants to avoid a potential power crisis during the peak of the summer season.

The only two of 54 nuclear reactors generating electricity are due to be shut for maintenance.

However, Trade Minister Yukio Edano said this month that no nuclear reactors may resume operations, leaving the country facing an estimated 10 percent power crisis during peak hours in summer.

Based on the survey results conducted over the weekend, 57 percent of the people opposed the restart of nuclear reactors with 80 percent distrusting the government's safety measures.

Public concern towards nuclear power heightened because of the nuclear disaster last year, when a powerful earthquake and tsunami crippled Fukushima's Daiichi atomic power plant northeast of Tokyo which resulted to the worst disaster of its kind since Chernobyl in 1986.

The Japanese government has been conducting series of stress tests on the reactors to prove their safety to a cynical public. But many local government units hosting nuclear reactors have been requesting for a more comprehensive set of tests taking into account damage caused at Fukushima.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday March 14 2012, 5:26 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0