"Narrative Summit" Releases 2025 Recommendations to Cement Egypt's Position as a Global Tourism Destination    Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Japan idled reactors could restart after stress test
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 11 - 07 - 2011

Japan's idled nuclear reactors could restart work if they pass the first stage of two-step post-Fukushima safety checks, the government said on Monday.
Still, without a timeframe for the tests, concerns remain about summer power shortages that could hurt the economy.
Last week's surprise announcement that the government would conduct stress tests alarmed corporate Japan and outraged some local authorities, who had been prepared to approve reactor restarts after receiving safety assurances from the government.
The first stage of the stress tests will target reactors which have already completed routine checks and are ready for restart. The checks will assess resistance to severe earthquakes and other events more extreme than those for which they were designed.
A second stage of tests will make a comprehensive safety assessment of all 54 of Japan's reactors, the government added in its statement.
Four months after the Fukushima Daiichi plant was smashed by a tsunami and began leaking radiation, only 19 of the country's reactors are running and if some do not resume operation, Japan could be without nuclear power by next April.
The disaster has also sparked a broader public debate about the role of nuclear energy in earthquake-prone, resource-poor Japan, which relied on atomic power for almost 30 percent of its electricity before the crisis.
"Safety and a sense of security are the top priority," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference.
"On the other hand, the government must fulfill its responsibility for a stable supply of electricity and is coordinating on this with relevant ministries ... and will make every effort to secure (supply) in the medium and long term," he added.
Edano gave no precise timeframe for completing either of the two stages, but said they should be carried out speedily.
UNCLEAR TIMEFRAME
The new assessment scheme, which also lacks detailed procedures, did little to elucidate atomic safety policy for reactor-hosting municipalities, whose approval is by custom required to restart reactors.
"I'm afraid we are still in the dark as to what the government wants to do," said Shigenobu Oniki, vice mayor of the southern Japanese town of Genkai, home of Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Genkai nuclear power plant. The government had seen two idled reactors at Genkai as prime candidates for the first restarts since the Fukushima crisis.
"We don't know what each stage will be like and what kind of checks will be involved. I think the government owes us an explanation," Oniki said.
Amid the drawn-out radiation crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima plant, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said, Japan's energy policy will likely remain unpredictable for some time, posing risks for the utility sector.
"Because the nation's energy policy forms the backbone of the Japanese electric utility sector's creditworthiness, we believe prolonged uncertainty could hurt the sector's credit quality," it said.
Shares in Tokyo Electric have tumbled 80 percent since the 11 March disasters, while Kansai Electric Power Co. and Chubu Electric Power Co., the next two largest power companies, have both lost 31 percent.
In a sudden policy shift last week, Prime Minister Naoto Kan - under fire for his handling of the nuclear crisis - said Japan would administer stress tests modeled on those conducted by the European Union after the meltdowns at Fukushima.
The move was welcomed by critics who say Japan's safety regulations have been too lax, but it also raised the risk of power shortages that could stretch into 2012, and hurt industrial production.
To avoid a power crunch, the government had been pushing for early restarts of facilities that have completed regular checks, but some local authorities said they could not give their OK until the government clarified its position.
Anti-nuclear activists maintained their opposition to reactor restarts. About 100 demonstrators marched on Monday into the government building of Saga Prefecture, where Genkai is located, and made their way near the governor's office, Jiji news agency said.
Kan has ordered a full review of Japan's energy policy, which before the March 11 disasters had aimed to boost nuclear energy's share of electricity supply to more than half by 2030.
He also wants to raise the contribution of renewable energy sources to more than 20 percent by the 2020s, and has made passage of a bill to promote such energy sources a condition for keeping a promise to resign.
The unpopular leader, already Japan's fifth premier in five years, survived a no-confidence vote last month by pledging to hand over the reins to his Democratic Party's younger generation, but has refused to specify when he will step down.


Clic here to read the story from its source.