FUKUI (Kyodo), Japan — An aged nuclear reactor in central Japan’s Fukui Prefecture was restarted on Wednesday, making it the country’s first nuclear unit to operate beyond the government-mandated 40-year service period imposed following the Fukushima accident in 2011. After completing final inspections, Kansai Electric Power Co. announced it began operating the No. 3 unit at the Mihama plant for the first time in about ten years. The reactor had been shut down following the catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was sparked by a huge earthquake and tsunami. The Mihama No. 3 unit, which started commercial operations in 1976, is set to be shut down in roughly four months, ahead of the Oct. 25 deadline for counterterrorism measures, which Kansai Electric says it is unlikely to achieve. After reviewing the company’s safety measures for the unit, the Nuclear Regulation Authority gave licence in 2016 for the reactor to run beyond the 40-year restriction for an extended term of up to 20 years. Despite growing concerns about ageing nuclear reactors among local residents, Mihama Mayor Hideki Toshima provided his assent in February, followed by approval from Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto on April 28. On Monday, a group of nine persons from Fukui, Kyoto, and Shiga prefectures filed a case in the Osaka District Court, requesting that the Mihama No. 3 reactor be shut down. They stated that elderly reactors are vulnerable to mishaps in the event of a large earthquake, and that the 40-year operation limit should be rigidly enforced in a country that could be hit by a natural disaster at any time. The Mihama plant’s Nos. 1 and 2 units were shut down in April 2015 due to the 40-year limit. Two other Kansai Electric reactors in Fukui Prefecture have also received licence from the nuclear watchdog and local approval to run beyond the 40-year restriction. However, the Takahama plant’s Nos. 1 and 2 reactors will not be restarted since the utility failed to meet a June 9 deadline for completing counterterrorism measures. Continue reading
