TOKYO - Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi in late November approved the restart of the Nos. 6 and 7 reactors of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. The No. 6 unit has already resumed operation -- the first time that a reactor has been restarted by TEPCO, the company responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.
Prior to his approval, the prefectural government released the results on Nov. 6 of a public option survey that showed strong concerns over the restart.
Sixty percent of respondents did not believe that the conditions for restarting the plant were currently in place, and 69 percent expressed concerns about TEPCO operating the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. Even after the nuclear accident, TEPCO has repeatedly experienced problems and troubles at the plant, creating deep-seated distrust among the prefecture's residents.
It is difficult to understand why the governor approved the restart despite these results. The prefectural assembly also failed to properly address the deep-seated distrust and anxiety of the prefecture's residents, and backed the governor with a resolution of confidence at the end of last year.
Deep-seated distrust of TEPCO means that the hurdles to restarting the plant are extremely high in relation to public opinion. TEPCO is unlike other power companies in that it bears a particularly heavy responsibility for causing the Fukushima accident. It goes beyond systems and procedures, such as whether the Nuclear Regulation Authority will give the go-ahead or whether local governments agree. It requires social acceptance.
Furthermore, TEPCO has asked local communities to accept the risks of hosting a nuclear plant, citing the need to "fulfill its responsibility to the disaster-stricken areas." This, too, is deeply problematic.
The people of Niigata Prefecture, of course, wish for relief to be provided to the victims of the Fukushima accident and the recovery of the affected areas, but they are caught in a question: Should they themselves have to bear the risks?
Even the victims of the accident cannot wholeheartedly welcome the move if their own relief and recovery cannot progress unless Niigata bears the risks. This is extremely cruel for both regions.
Nuclear policy has traditionally involved the state imposing intensive risks on specific regions, citing the public interest. This unequal and unfair structure continues even after the Fukushima accident. The restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant is an issue that will determine the future of nuclear power policy and it is an issue that should be discussed not only in Niigata Prefecture but nationwide.
The governor's justification for approving the restart is based on factors such as the review by the Niigata prefectural government of the Fukushima accident. I participated in part of the review, serving as vice chair of the subcommittee examining the socioeconomic damage suffered by evacuees.
What became clear during the review was that the damage was extremely serious and long-lasting, and that restoration to the pre-accident state would be extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the fact that this review was used as one of the bases for the decision to approve the restart of a nuclear plant is tantamount to ignoring the actual damage, and is difficult to accept.
The No. 3 unit of Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s Tomari nuclear power plant also moved closer to restart, with Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki officially giving his consent last December.
We will soon mark 15 years since the Fukushima crisis but recovery from the damage and reconstruction of the affected areas are still only half-way complete. We must keep this reality in mind when discussing whether or not to restart the plant.
(Masafumi Yokemoto is a professor at Osaka Metropolitan University. Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1971, he graduated from Waseda University and earned a doctorate in economics from Hitotsubashi University. He is an expert in environmental policy and environmental economics.)
