Mass protests around Japan, and warnings about the dangers of restarting the nuclear reactors at Ohi from experts in various fields weren't enough to deter the Japanese government from getting the nuclear power ball up and running again, with the Ohi Atomic Plant's No. 3 reactor resuming operations Sunday, the first nuclear reactor to be re-engaged since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011.
The Japanese government approved the restart of Ohi's No. 3 and 4 reactors on June 16, hoping to avoid a potential summer power crunch (the No. 4 reactor will be restarted later this month). Since the Fukushima disaster, all 50 of the country's nuclear reactors, which once accounted for 30% of its electricity generation, have been offline for maintenance and safety testing, to ensure they would withstand the same magnitude of disaster that the Fukushima Daiichi plant could not.
The government-approved restarts of the two Kansai reactors come despite warnings from two prominent Japanese seismologists, who say active fault lines and other dangers have not been properly taken into account in the new safety measures.
"The stress tests and new safety guidelines for restarting nuclear power plants both allow for accidents at plants to occur," Katsuhiko Ishibashi, a seismologist at Kobe University told reporters in Tokyo last week. "Instead of making standards stricter, they both represent a severe setback in safety standards."
"The expertise and neutrality of experts advising Japan's Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency are highly questionable," added Mitsuhisa Watanabe, a tectonic geomorphology professor at Tokyo University.
They also come despite vociferous public backlash, with thousands marching through the streets of Tokyo over the past several days, voicing their disapproval of nuclear power. Opinion polls in Japan now show that 70% of people want nuclear power abandoned completely at some point, even if not immediately (presumably for the same power generation needs that has compelled the government to give the green light to restart the two Ohi reactors). 100 protestors also demonstrated outside the Ohi plant itself, blocking traffic to and from the plant, though the demonstration did not affect the restart.
Has Japan done its due diligence before firing up its reactors once more? Is nuclear power generally safe, or is it high time we found an alternate source of cheap energy? Power your thoughts our way in the comments section.
