Japan Gives Unpopular Go-Ahead to Restart Two Reactors
The first of Japan’s nuclear reactors could come back online in as little as three weeks’ time after all of the country’s nuclear plants were shut down pending safety checks following last year’s Fukushima disaster.
The Japanese government has given its approval to a plan that would see the country’s first two nuclear reactors restarted since all 50 of them were gradually taken offline in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in March 2011.
Thorough safety checks were ordered for all of Japan’s nuclear plants. But even with improved safety standards and emergency procedures, there is still widespread public opposition to restarting any of Japan’s reactors over fears of another nuclear catastrophe.
As many as 10,000 protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s office Friday night to protest putting reactors back on the grid.