Politicians in the Kansai region are increasingly coming out against approving any early restart of two nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture unless the central government first issues new safety guidelines that would hopefully prevent another crisis like Fukushima No. 1.
Last week, the Nuclear Safety Commission approved the results of first-stage stress tests for reactors 3 and 4 at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture. But the commission's approval of the stress tests has been slammed as insufficient by leaders in and out of the prefecture.
"Stress tests and safety standards are two different things. The only thing that has happened is that a single investigation has approved a set of theoretical numbers based on a theoretical scenario. The commission said nothing about the safety of the plant itself," Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said in a series of Twitter messages this week.