It has been about nine months since the operator of the Hamaoka nuclear plant succumbed to a government request to suspend operations, and it now awaits the time when it will be allowed to restart, while building a huge sea wall designed to reduce the risk of tsunami damage.
With no clear prospects of restarting the reactors at Chubu Electric Power Co.'s plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, some people who live in the vicinity acknowledge the need to step up discussions to prepare for a future that no longer relies on the massive economic benefits that go to a city for hosting a nuclear facility.
But it's an open question whether such a move would gather steam in the community, where many appear to feel uncomfortable speaking out against the plant even though Japan is going through the world's worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.