FUKUI Bathers here are being warned not to approach dolphins after a flurry of reports of swimmers being bitten by the mammals, resulting in slight injuries.
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.
The Mihama nuclear power plant operated by Kansai Electric Power Co. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
MIHAMA, Fukui Prefecture Mayor Hideki Toshima here on Feb. 15 approved the restart of a nuclear reactor that has passed its initial 40-year life span, passing the baton on to the prefectural assembly.
The go-ahead is a key step to bring the No. 3 reactor at the Mihama nuclear plant, operated by Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), back online.
Toshima met the chairman of the town assembly that day, which approved the restart on Dec. 18. The mayor told Chairman Yoshihiro Takenaka that he agrees with the assembly’s decision.