Ehime became the second prefecture Monday to give a nod to restarting a nuclear power plant after the nation's reactors were idled in the wake of the March 2011 start of the meltdown crisis at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant.
Ehime Gov. Tokihiro Nakamura conveyed his approval for restarting reactor 3 at the Ikata nuclear power plant when he met Hayato Saeki, president of Shikoku Electric Power Co., which operates the plant in the town of Ikata in the prefecture, Monday morning.
The reactor in July passed the screening by the Nuclear Regulation Authority under stricter standards introduced in light of the Fukushima disaster. Ikata Mayor Kazuhiko Yamashita gave his consent to its restart, and the prefectural assembly has adopted a resolution saying "there is the need to restart" the reactor, making it likely the governor will approve resumption of the reactor's operation.