By Japan Bureau Chief Michiyo Ishida | Posted: 08 December
SHIZUOKA, Japan: Japan is struggling to put an end to the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
A full-scale decontamination of areas around the facility is also set to take place with the help of the Self Defense Force.
A government panel believes all this would cost at least US$73 billion.
As the Japanese government rethinks the country’s nuclear policy, the Governor of Shizuoka Heita Kawakatsu has said the prefecture can find alternative sources of energy in three years.
Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan is home to Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station.
Run by the Chubu Electric Power Company, its five units are capable of producing 5 million kilo watts of power.
But none of them are operating at this moment after they were shutdown by former Prime Minister Naoto Kan in May.
The plant was not directly affected by the March earthquake and tsunami, but it lies on a fault line with an 80 per cent chance of an earthquake occurring in the next 30 years.
In an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia, Mr Kawakatsu said: “I asked the electric company Chubu if they were prepared for these tsunamis. They said yes. I said you are not prepared for more than 10 metres above sea level tsunami. They said they would build walls initially 12 metres. Now it is 18 metres. The shape is…against the sea. It will take until the end of next year. You should not reopen a plant which is now being checked. They cannot operate.”
Mr Kan publicly announced Hamaoka’s closure on May 6.
There are 54 nuclear reactors in Japan. Reactors are being shut down one after another. And by next spring, there may be none running. These regions need to find alternative energy sources. Shizuoka’s Governor believes he will be able to find alternative sources of energy in three years.
He intends to use more solar power, as well as heat created from volcanic energy, and water.
He believes it can be done as Shizuoka is blessed with such natural resources.
- CNA/ms
