GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Japan’s prime minister Yoshihiko Noda says two idle nuclear reactors should be restarted in order to help safeguard the country’s economy.
Since last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, all of Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors have been offline for maintenance and safety concerns. With the risk of summer power blackouts, the government has urged businesses and households to reduce their electrical consumption by 15 percent.
In a televised broadcast Friday 8 June, the prime minister said “Cheap and stable electricity is vital. If all the reactors that previously provided 30 percent of Japan’s electricity supply are halted, or kept idle, Japanese society cannot survive”.
Noda urged local authorities to allow two reactors at the Oi nuclear plant in western Japan to resume operations.
Links to other sources: Japan Today, BBC
