#Radioactive Japan: Minister of Economy Declares on TV That Nuke Plants Will Restart As Soon As This Fall

The ex-McKinsey consultant minister has been very bullish on things nuclear for some reason. He has already declared that decommissioning of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant will be done ahead of schedule of the current roadmap plan of 30 to 40 years. Never mind IAEA (later).

From Jiji Tsushin (4/23/2013):

秋にも原発再稼働＝茂木経産相

Nuclear power plants may restart in fall, says Minister of Economy Motegi

茂木敏充経済産業相は２３日夜、ＢＳジャパンの番組に出演し、原発再稼働の時期に関して「（早ければ）今年の秋になる」との見通しを示した。経産相は根拠として「原子力規制委員会の新規制基準が７月１８日に出来上がる。事業者が申請して安全が確認できれば再稼働となる」と説明した。

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimitsu Motegi appeared in a program on BS Japan [BS stands for Broadcast Satellite] on April 23 night, and shared his view regarding the restart of nuclear power plant, saying "It will be (as soon as) this fall." Minister Motegi explained, as the basis for his view, "New regulatory standards by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority will have been compiled by July 18. Then the operators will apply [for restart], and if the safety is confirmed the nuclear plants will restart."

原発を抱える地元の理解が重要だが、茂木経産相は「そのための努力はしていく」と述べ、安全確認後に立地自治体との調整を進める考えを示した。現在、関西電力大飯原発３、４号機（福井県おおい町）が全国で唯一稼働している。

The understanding of the municipalities where nuclear power plants are located will be important, but Minister Motegi said, "We will make an effort [to obtain the understanding]", signaling the plan to coordinate with the municipalities after the safety is confirmed. Currently, only one nuclear power plant is in operation in Japan, which is KEPCO's Ooi Nuclear Power Plant (Ooi-cho, Fukui Prefecture).

I like the name of the TV station. BS Japan. Priceless.

I don't quite understand why it is this minister's business to even speak about nuclear power plant restart. The Nuclear Regulatory Authority is under the Ministry of the Environment. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, which was under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, has been abolished.

Jiji Tsushin seems to have all but forgotten that in the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident, areas far wider than the municipalities where the nuclear power plant was located (Futaba-machi, Okuma-machi) have been affected when it says "The understanding of the municipalities where nuclear power plants are located will be important".

Long-term memory (more than 1 year), not to mention critical thinking, is not what "Cool Japan" is about, anyway.

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