Japan Press Weekly

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2012 May 30 - June 5 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Osaka mayor makes about-face to approve restart of Oi NPP

Osaka City Mayor Hashimoto Toru has approved the restart of operations of nuclear reactors at the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, turning his back on his previous statement opposing the restart.

At a news conference on May 31, Hashimoto referred to an announcement issued by the Union of Kansai Governments on May 30 which essentially accepts the resumption of operations. He said, “Some people argue that it is unacceptable to restart the offline nuclear reactors without taking sufficient safety measures, but I think that is just an ‘armchair theory’. Such an idea doesn’t work in real politics.”

In mid-April, when the central government determined that the restart of the Oi nuclear reactors is “valid”, the mayor said, “There is no choice but to defeat the Democratic Party of Japan-led government.” He retracted his remarks on June 1.

The mayor’s confidential meeting with business circles seems to have made him change his mind. Hashimoto on May 15 met with the business leaders of the Kansai Economic Federation, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives. Immediately after the meeting, the municipal leader began to espouse the need to reactivate nuclear reactors at the Oi NPP for, according to him, a “limited period”.

Akahata also revealed that Hashimoto had another secret meeting about the issue with a high official of the Economy Ministry in Tokyo in February.

The mayor on April 26 said that a tax increase is inevitable in order to meet power demand, saying, “People have to share the cost” if they do not agree with the resumption.