Japan built a new nuclear power plant in Aomori

The Japanese Power Development Company (J-Power) on October 1 resumed the construction of Oma Nuclear Power Plant in Aomori Prefecture.

This is the first power company in Japan to restart the construction of nuclear power plants since the incident at the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant earlier this year.

Due to the nuclear crisis that led to the suspension of the project, J-Power President Masayoshi Kitamura said the plant would be operating at least 18 months later than originally planned in November 2014. .

Mr. Kitamura went to Oma and two nearby villages to explain the resumption of the construction of the nuclear power plant and the three localities accepted the decision of J-Power.

Town Mayor Oma Mitsuharu Kanazawa said he felt relieved when J-Power resumed the project in favor of the town because it created jobs, but local authorities were far from the construction site. building this nuclear power plant proved to be concerned about the negative impacts that they might face if a nuclear incident occurs.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Hakodate City in Hokkaido - separated by a strait but still within a radius of 30km from the factory, said he wanted to sue to stop the project.

The resumption of construction of the Oma Nuclear Power Plant was made after the Japanese government decided to allow electric companies to continue building new reactors because they had won the 'license' of local authorities.

However, this decision is also believed to contradict the Japanese government's statement that it will eliminate dependence on nuclear power by 2030 and will not allow the construction of new nuclear power plants under the energy strategy. Government amounts were drafted in September.

Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yukio Edano said at a news conference in Tokyo that it is up to power companies to decide whether to resume the construction of the nuclear power plant, but the Commission rules. Japan's new nuclear plan will check the factory's safety before it starts operating.

J-Power started construction of Oma nuclear power plant in May 2008, is expected to be operational in November 2014. However, after 40% of construction work was completed, this project was suspended after the most serious nuclear incident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

J-Power said the advanced boiling water reactor will be installed at the Oma plant with the plan to use mixed oxide fuel (MOX) between plutonium and uranium, including extracted plutonium from the fuel. used. The company affirmed 'the factory will be very safe and reliable due to the use of the most advanced technology.

The Japanese government has approved the construction of two nuclear reactors before the Fukushima 1 incident, in which the construction of No. 3 at the Chugoku Electric Company Shimane Nuclear Power Plant in Shimane Prefecture is close. completed.

In contrast, there was little progress with the No.1 reactor at the Higashidori Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Aomori Prefecture. The prospect of resuming construction work at this factory is very faint because TEPCO is focusing its efforts on troubleshooting at the Fukushima nuclear power plant 1.

In addition, Japan has nine other reactors that have been planned, but have not yet started.