Japan nuclear reactor shut off

Japan began switching off its last operating nuclear reactor yesterday for an inspection, with no date scheduled for a restart amid strong public hostility towards atomic power.

The move will leave the third largest economy in the world without atomic energy for the second time since the Fukushima nuclear crisis erupted in March 2011.

Nuclear power supplied about one-third of the resource-poor nation’s electricity before a tsunami knocked out cooling systems and sparked meltdowns at Fukushima.

Kansai Electric Power yesterday started to take offline the No 4 reactor at its Oi nuclear plant in the western prefecture of Fukui.

Japan previously was without any nuclear energy in May 2012, when all of the country’s 50 commercial reactors stopped for checkups in the wake of the disaster.

Government officials and utilities voiced concern at the time that Japan could face major blackouts without nuclear power. Their fears proved unfounded but the government last year gave Kansai Electric approval to restart No 3 and No 4 reactors at the Oi plant, arguing that nuclear energy was necessary to meet increased electricity demand during the winter.

The reactors were reactivated in Jul 2012, but the No 3 reactor was shut down earlier this month for inspection. The nation’s other reactors have remained idle.