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The restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant (Niigata prefecture), which is the mainstay of TEPCO’s management rebuilding, has been “frozen”. The cause is the insufficiency of the anti-terrorist team that it caused. Although the president apologized in the local government, the Liberal Democratic Party faction of the prefectural assembly also made a tough voice saying that he was not a corporate entity. TEPCO’s trust was completely lost 10 years after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. (Kenta Onozawa)
TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa (second from left) bows to Governor Hideyo Hanazumi (right) = March 25, at Niigata prefectural office
◆ “Are you eligible to operate a nuclear power plant?”
“It is a question mark if it is eligible to power a nuclear power plant.” Governor Hideyo Hanazumi of the prefecture told President Tomoaki Kobayakawa that he visited the prefectural office on the 25th. Mr. Kobayakawa explained, “I will take the lead in investigating the cause and preventing the recurrence,” but said in a low voice: “Please demonstrate your actions and achievements.”
The Liberal Democratic Party, the largest force in the prefectural assembly that is supposed to be the party that animates TEPCO, is Ono, the general secretary of the party’s federation of prefectures.
Immediately thereafter, the prefectural assembly unanimously approved a written opinion requesting the government and the Diet to reexamine “Is TEPCO eligible to power a nuclear power plant?” The air to discuss “restart” has disappeared from the prefectural assembly.
◆ Expectations of economic dynamism, voices of support
On the other hand, in the city of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa Village, where the nuclear power plants are located, Mr. Kobayakawa’s visit was well received on the 26th and TEPCO advocates made a series of comments. TEPCO plans to start operating Unit 7 early, which has passed the Nuclear Regulatory Authority reboot examination. This is because it is expected to cut costs by roughly 100 billion yen, and the declining local business community sees it as an opportunity as well.
Hiroo Shinada, the mayor of Kariwa Village, urged the Regulatory Commission to refute the policy of ordering a de facto driving ban, saying “the facts must be firmly stated.” Kashiwazaki City Mayor Masahiro Sakurai also said: “Operation needs to be restarted. I would like you to take steps to prevent this situation from happening again.”
Even so, TEPCO’s systematic carelessness was revealed, and it was no longer a situation to discuss the reboot promotion.
◆ Niigata prefecture check, more carefully
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant has halted regulatory committee and local government procedures, so it is unclear when it will restart. The end of “Fukushima accident verification work”, which the prefectural governor uses to determine whether to operate or not, cannot be foreseen.
The prefectural verification, which has continued since 2017, has three themes: “causes of accidents,” “impacts on health and life,” and “evacuation.”
Hiroshi Sasaki, a professor at Niigata University of International and Information Studies, who is the vice chairman of the evacuation committee, said: “Evacuation decisions should be based on information from TEPCO. Since TEPCO cannot be trusted, it must be examined more carefully.
There was a gubernatorial election next year, and there were observations that an early consent decision would be made to avoid the problem of restarting operations. However, verification work has stopped since January, when it became clear that the counterterrorism equipment was inadequate.
This time, the TEPCO leadership did not meet with the opposition parliamentary group in the prefectural assembly and did not establish a place to explain directly to local residents. Mr. Kuraaki Yasuzawa (86) from Kariwa Village, who lives about 3 kilometers from the nuclear power plant, said he was tired.
“Since the nuclear power plant is a national policy, I have no choice but to accept it. The accident in Fukushima and this scandal happened because TEPCO was careless. Could you just give up and get out?”
