Japan Press Weekly

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2012 June 27 - July 3 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Fukushima governor requests TEPCO to decommission all NPPs in prefecture

Fukushima Governor SatoYuhei on June 28 met with the new executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in the prefectural office building, requesting them to decommission all nuclear reactors in the prefecture.

The executives, taking up their positions the day before the meeting, visited Fukushima for the first time. TEPCO’s chairperson Shimokobe Kazuhiko said to the governor, “I understand that the sufferers’ hardships and losses caused by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are beyond description. I do apologize to the residents of Fukushima.”

The governor requested the utility to decommission the No.5 and No.6 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP and all reactors at the Fukushima Daini NPP, in addition to the 4 crippled reactors at Fukushima Daiichi which have to be decommissioned following the accident. He also demanded that the power company compensate all survivors for their losses and do its utmost to overcome the ongoing crisis as soon as possible. “I want you to think of how you would address the problem if you and your families were living in Fukushima,” he added.

The company’s directors also had a meeting with prefectural assembly chairperson Saito Kenji on the same day. Saito called on them to pull out the fuel rods from all nuclear reactors in the prefecture and prepare for the decommissioning of these reactors.

TEPCO’s executives are planning to visit the disaster-ravaged 13 local governments within the prefecture including ones evacuated to other areas due to the high degree of radioactive contamination.