A panel convened by the Nuclear Regulation Authority said Thursday its opinion that a fault beneath a reactor at the Tsuruga nuclear power plant is active has not been swayed by the additional data provided by its manager.
The move leaves Japan Atomic Power Co. no choice but to scrap the No. 2 reactor at the two-unit Tsuruga complex, which sits on the Sea of Japan coastline of Fukui Prefecture.
The NRA acknowledged last year that the fault is active, but Japan Atomic later submitted additional data to overturn the regulator's judgment, which the panel rejected at its meeting on Thursday.
Taiki Ichimura, vice president of Japan Atomic Power, called for more discussions on the issue, but NRA Commissioner Kunihiko Shimazaki brushed it off, saying that its ruling was final.
"Enough scientific debates have been held," he said.
The nuclear regulator might compile an amended version of its report as early as in October to reflect changes in details.