Japan’s PM orders end of nuclear freeze

Noda ordered the reactivation of the reactors three and four at Oi power plant in western Japan on Saturday, after securing support from the mayor of Oi and the governor of Fukui prefecture, where Oi is located.

“Having won local consent, reactivating [the reactors] is now the government’s final decision,” Noda said.

Japan used to get 30 percent of its electricity from nuclear power before last year’s quake and tsunami that wrecked the Fukushima plant, spewing radiation and forcing mass evacuations.

“We are determined to make further efforts to restore people’s trust in nuclear policy and safety regulations,” Noda added.

On Friday, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Noda’s office in Tokyo in last-ditch attempt to derail the restart.

All of Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors were shut down after the accident. Most of the reactors have been off-lined for regularly scheduled maintenance, with no specific restart plans.

Most people do not want the reactors to be restarted, saying reactivating the reactors before the completion of the probe into the Fukushima triple-meltdown disaster would pose too much of a risk.

Reactor 3 at the Oi power station, located on the Sea of Japan coast, has remained offline since March 18 last year, and reactor 4 since July 22.

PG/PKH

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