The village of Kariwa, Niigata Prefecture, announced Thursday it will hold a plebiscite May 27 over a plan to use plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at a local nuclear plant.
The plebiscite will be the first to be held by a local government over the use of MOX fuel at a nuclear plant. The result may have a significant impact on utilities and the state's nuclear power policy.
Residents will be asked if they approve, oppose or have reservations about Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s plans to introduce the so-called pluthermal process at the No. 3 reactor of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.
The pluthermal process entails using MOX fuel to power a thermal reactor. The fuel is made by mixing uranium with plutonium chemically extracted from spent nuclear fuel.