The news that a nuclear plant on the Sea of Japan coast may have been built on at least one active seismic fault line has cast doubt on whether the plant in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, will ever be restarted.
Four outside experts on the five-member panel from the Nuclear Regulation Authority revealed at a meeting Wednesday that it is possible the fault running beneath the No. 1 reactor of the two-unit plant run by Hokuriku Electric Power Co. is active.
If the regulator issues a judgment reflecting that opinion, the utility would have no option but to shut down the unit permanently.