No matter what, no reactor will be restarted unless the Nuclear Regulation Authority has confirmed its safety, according to new trade and industry minster Toshimitsu Motegi.
"We will entrust the safety of reactors to the NRA, which is independent. There will be no restarts if safety is not confirmed," the new METI chief said in a group interview with The Japan Times and other media outlets Friday.
Motegi stressed that safety would come first before "any other factors," including the potential economic damage from staying away from nuclear power or unpopular spikes in electricity prices that consumers and industries may face.