The head of the nuclear regulatory body Wednesday urged Kansai Electric Power Co. to understand the seriousness of a recent incident at one of its reactors, as the case had "a large impact on society" and diminished public trust in the safety of nuclear power operations.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved Kansai Electric's report on the cause of the incident and preventive steps to be taken during a regular meeting, but Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the body, said the utility should reflect on the incident seriously.
The No. 4 unit at the company's Takahama nuclear plant, on the Sea of Japan coast about 380 kilometers west of Tokyo, has been kept offline since it shut down automatically Feb. 29 after problems with a generator and a transformer triggered alarms.