Shiga governor opposes restartst of Oi nuclear reactors

November 26, 2017

Otsu, Shiga- Shiga Governor Taizo Mikazuki reiterated his opposition on Sunday to the restarts of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear plant in neighboring Fukui Prefecture.

"We're not in an environment that allows us to agree to the restarts of the reactors, in view of persistent concern among the residents of our prefecture," Mikazuki said at a meeting with Masaharu Nakagawa, minister for nuclear emergency preparedness, in Otsu, capital of Shiga Prefecture.

Nakagawa visited the governor to brief him on evacuation plans in the event of a severe accident at the Oi nuclear plant in western Japan.

Part of the Shiga city of Takashima is included in the so-called urgent protective action planning zone, or UPZ, set within a 30-kilometer radius of the plant. Kansai Electric aims to restart the two Oi reactors early next year.

On the Oi plant's evacuation plans, Mikazuki pointed to the absence of resident rescue plans including one by the Self-defense Forces and the challenge of securing evacuation vehicles and their drivers. Jiji Press