The No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, seen in the background, at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama nuclear plant in Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, in November 2020 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
When push came to shove, Fukui Governor Tatsuji Sugimoto went silent on his demand that resuming operations at three aging nuclear reactors in Fukui hinged on storing spent nuclear fuel outside his prefecture.
Sugimoto announced at a news conference on April 28 that he was approving the resumption of operations at the Takahama and Mihama nuclear power plants, but made no mention of setting up an interim storage facility or spent nuclear fuel until reporters asked him about it.