Two idled nuclear reactors owned by Kansai Electric Power Co. on Wednesday cleared an initial safety hurdle necessary for them to be restarted, possibly next year, bolstering the Abe government's plan to revive atomic power following the 2011 Fukushima crisis.
Reactors 3 and 4 at the Takahama plant, located on the Sea of Japan coast in Fukui Prefecture, follow two units operated by Kyushu Electric Power Co. in passing the Nuclear Regulation Authority's tighter safety requirements, which were introduced after the triple meltdown at Tepco's Fukushima No. 1 plant in 2011.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, which won 290 seats in Sunday's Lower House election, is set to accelerate efforts to revive nuclear plants that have remained idled amid safety concerns following the March 2011 triple disaster, although the majority of Japanese are said to be opposed to the resumption.