Seiji Maehara, the Japanese Economics Minister, on October 6, 2012 said that the nuclear reactors which were damaged in the Fukushima disaster, can be restarted if a new regulator confirms that they are safe. Maehara gave hinted that dozens of the idle reactors could be used for future energy plans.
The minister said that a new law has empowered regulators to pass judgement on whether the nuclear reactors could be brought back online. While talking about the idle generators, the minister said that they could be the main source of power generation for now. Interestingly the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), stated that they do not hold ultimate responsibility in regards to restarting nuclear reactors and is only concerned with their safety.
Maehara said, “If safety is approved, such reactors would be considered as an important power source. We should rely on nuclear as an energy option for the time being.” However, it is still unclear whether the nuclear reactors will be restarted or not.
The thought of restarting the nuclear reactors, has raised anger among the Japanese people, especially after the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami disaster. On the other hand Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda had given assurance that the nuclear policy will be dropped by the government under the pressure of public safety, by the year 2030.
