politics

Local assembly wants Hamaoka nuclear plant permanently shut down

21 Comments

A local assembly in Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, have adopted a resolution calling for the Hamaoka nuclear power plant to be permanently shut down.

According to an NTV report on Monday, the resolution states that because safety cannot be guaranteed, plant operator Chubu Electric Co should close the plant permanently.

Makinohara is located within 10 kilometers of the plant.

Chubu Electric Co last week began preparations to build an 18-meter anti-tsunami seawall to protect the aging Hamaoka nuclear plant which is located near a faultline in a region seen as vulnerable to earthquakes.

Chubu Electric said in a statement to media that the seawall and other additional safety measures should protect the plant from a tsunami as strong as the one that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant after the March 11 earthquake.

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21 Comments
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"Chubu Electric said in a statement to media that the seawall and other additional safety measures should protect the plant from a tsunami as strong as the one that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant after the March 11 earthquake."

Which may be true, but the Fukushima disaster might have been mainly caused by the earthquake. We still don't know. Hamaoka was shut down by Kan because of the 90% likely occurrence of a 9.0+ earthquake coming, not just a tsunami.

Btw, this resolution is months behind the Japanese public, 75% of whom want nuclear power ended in one poll (abobe 50% in all poles). Does public opinion count or just politicians?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Obviously the Shimoka Prefectures representatives do not believe the sea wall will not make any difference in regards to the safety of the plant. For the elected assembley to come to the conclusion that total closure is the only option I am guessing the local electorate have voiced their fears and demands very strongly.I hope this is the begining of the decline and in the future the total abandonment of nuclear power in favour of renewable and sustainable alternatives

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Btw, this resolution is months behind the Japanese public, 75% of whom want nuclear power ended in one poll (abobe 50% in all poles). Does public opinion count or just politicians?

The nuclear village is hoping (or even counting on) that people will forget. In comparison to the In fact the memory of the masses are relatively short compared to the ROI of nuclear power plants.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

In comparison to the In fact the memory

Change to: In fact the memory

1 ( +1 / -0 )

They said that after the Fukushima quake that most of the pipes in the Fukushima plant were a complete mess and unusable.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sadly, we know who has the power in this situation, and the people will be ignored.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

&5% of the population or the poll answers are stupid. What is Japan going to replace it with? Next the increase from pollution will kill a lot more than this accident.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

What is Japan going to replace it with? Next the increase from pollution will kill a lot more than this accident.

Take your pick(s)

"Green alternatives" Hydro, Wind, Solar (thermal), Solar (PV), Geothermal, Bio Energy, Blue Energy, Wave Energy, Tidal Energy. Other countries are using these to generate an increasingly large percentage of their energy needs.

"Not so green" Fossil fuels. This country was already getting about 60% (or more depending on how you are counting) of its energy from fossil fuels. Although fossil is not a long(as in really long) term solution, for a country going trough a crisis (like Japan), a short term increase in fossil fuel usage seem acceptable to me. Done responsibly and combined with new tech for filtering and cleaning exhaust and sequestering CO2, maybe even acceptable for medium to long term?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Let the local assembly debate in candle light.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

"&5% of the population or the poll answers are stupid. What is Japan going to replace it with? Next the increase from pollution will kill a lot more than this accident."

More words of wisdom from Yuri Otani. Sad thing is he seems to actually believe he nonsense he writes.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

That's the problem with the Japanese politicians. They talk before they think. They propose something without stating the solution or alternative. They should say at least "Shut down all nuclear generators and prepare to use candles."

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

zichi in Japan all of that coal, oil and gas has to be imported. Second it creates a lot of pollution, really how many people die in Beijing and the other major cities in China because of the pollution? This quiet fiend promotes lung cancer, heart disease, etc. The radiation threat is less than the pollution threat. Ever fly out of Haneda on a "clear" day to discover a brown blanket covering the city? This kills people yet no one is worried about it at all. With no atomic power it is going to get worse.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

zichi, this is Japan and not Europe and I just do not see it happening. The key is the new tech has to be available before the nuke plants are taken off line. Right now it is only 29% due to all of the plants going offline. The backup capability is being used, Japan is right on the edge. Worse some of the plants operating will have to come offline for maintenance, what then?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Will the local assembly be seen soon carrying brown paper bags out of a meeting with Chubu. executives? I would imagine quite a few of them are prepared to accept some "gift" money to vote in favour of supporting the reactor - it is the tradition here, remember - the real question is how much money Chubu has to pay them.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Green alternatives" Hydro, Wind, Solar (thermal), Solar (PV), Geothermal, Bio Energy, Blue Energy, Wave Energy, Tidal Energy. Other countries are using these to generate an increasingly large percentage of their energy needs.

If by other countries, you mean countries whose populations are but a fraction of Japan's largest cities, then sure, "green alternatives" may be a suitable alternative to fossil fuels.

But they aren't a suitable alternative for a nation with the population and energy consumption of Japan. Green energy alternatives don't come even remotely close to providing the amount of energy Tokyo consumes on a daily basis, much less the entire country of Japan.

Cutting off the nose to spite the face isn't the way to go about weaning modern societies off of nuclear or fossil fuels.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This is not about nuclear power generally - this is a very specific case.

Until 3/11, I didn't mind nuclear power, but agreed with the long campaign to get this one plant shut down. It is directly on top of what is now known to be the most dangerous fault in Japan, considered almost certain to experience a catastrophic earthquake within the next 10 years. And not an tsunami - a direct hit, Shindo 7 (sideways shaking of more than 3 metres at a time). No nuclear plant has ever been directly hit by the kind of seismic shape geologists are now certain will directly strike Hamaoka.

Point is, there are only two sensible positions on this:

You shut down all nuclear reactors.

You shut down this one reactor and build another one somewhere else.

Restarting Hamaoka is folly. As a Tokyo resident, last thing I want is two crippled radioactive plants 250km north and south of Tokyo.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I think the right decision.

If earthquake comes, the problem occurs without a doubt.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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