The man nominated to head the new atomic regulatory authority said Wednesday he expects the two reactors at the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture to halt operations should there be any active fault found underneath them.
Shunichi Tanaka, former vice chairman of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, made the remark about reactors 3 and 4 of the Kansai Electric Power Co. plant after they were restarted last month despite public safety concerns nationwide.
Before the two Oi reactor restarts, all 50 remaining workable commercial reactors nationwide had eventually shut down because of a stricter inspection regimen initiated amid the triple-meltdown disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and the strong public attitude against atomic power.