Japan Press Weekly

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2017 August 30 - September 5 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP parliamentarians in on-site survey check safety measures at Genkai NPP

A group of Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers on August 30 visited the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant in Saga Prefecture to check to see if safety measures are sufficiently implemented. The plant operator, Kyushu Electric Power Company (Kyuden), plans to bring the NPP back online in January 2018.

The on-site investigation was carried out by a total of 20 people, including JCP parliamentarians Majima Shozo, Fujino Yasufumi, Tamura Taka’aki, and Nihi Sohei as well as JCP members of nearby municipal assemblies. They toured the plant site and examined the safety equipment installed.

At the question-and-answer session after the tour, the JCP Dietmembers asked about countermeasures in the event of a nuclear meltdown. In response, Kyuden officials explained that the melted fuel will be cooled in a water pool. The JCP lawmakers pointed to the possibility of a vapor explosion.

Without presenting any objective evidence or scientific data, the Kyuden officials insisted that no vapor explosion would occur under this scenario. The utility just repeated its own claims based on the discredited “safety myth”.

The JCP group also criticized the power company for rejecting Akahata reporters’ request to participate in the on-site investigation. Stating that Tokyo Electric Power Company and other utilities had accepted similar requests, the group urged Kyuden to change its attitude.

On the same day in Tokyo, the Economic Minister held an expert panel meeting on the current situation regarding Japan’s energy policies. A top executive of Hitachi, one of the major NPP manufacturers in Japan, said that the company is having difficulties in making its nuclear reactor business profitable. This remark obviously conflicts with the Abe government’s policy of full support for the reactivation of nuclear power plants.