Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2015 December 16 - 22 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Fukui Prefectural Assembly agrees to restart Takahama NPP

The Fukui Prefectural Assembly on December 17 at its plenary session by a majority vote of the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties approved a resolution to reactivate Kansai Electric Power Company’s Takahama nuclear power station. The Japanese Communist Party voted against the resolution.

Prior to the vote, JCP member of the assembly Sato Masao took the floor to oppose the resolution.

Sato pointed out that the Takahama NPP’s technological safety has yet to be established and that the prefectural government’s evacuation plan in the case of a severe nuclear accident remains incomplete.

The JCP assemblyperson then cited facts and figures regarding local residents’ opinions on reactivation: nearly 300,000 Fukui citizens signed a petition objecting to the restarting of idled nuclear reactors and 52% of residents living in NPP-concentrated areas in Fukui said “No” to the reactivation in an NHK opinion poll which was conducted in October. He criticized Governor Nishikawa Issei for falsely proclaiming that the prefecture’s efforts to obtain consent from local residents have made advances.

Past related articles:
> Local residents welcome court decision banning restart of Takahama NPP [April 15, 2015]
> Fukui governor rejects petitions against restart of nuclear reactors [March 25, 2015]
> Fukui’s nuclear disaster evacuation plan full of holes [January 27, 2014]