With the May 10 announcement by Prime Minister Naoto Kan of a fundamental review of nuclear power generation in Japan, the fate of 14 planned new reactors was necessarily thrown into doubt. However, neither ongoing events in Fukushima, nor news of the review, have changed the stance of the nation's electricity supply companies in promoting "clean and safe" nuclear energy.
Two of those 14 new reactors are planned by Chugoku Electric Power Co. to be built in the town of Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture — where many residents, including fishermen and farmers, are protesting against the plan. They are joined in their opposition by many biologists and ornithologists both in Japan and overseas, who maintain that the proposed new nuclear plant threatens endangered seabirds and other creatures.
Although Chugoku Electric has suspended construction of the plant since disaster struck the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), it still aims to go ahead with its plans — which involve reclaiming land from Tanoura Gulf in the Seto Inland Sea. In fact, on March 28, Takashi Yamashita, president of Chugoku Electric, said at a press conference at the company's Hiroshima headquarters that the Kaminoseki plant was necessary to secure future energy supplies and to tackle global warming.