Japan set to power up nuclear reactor amid protests [video]

Posted by clnews _Featured_, Nuclear Radiation, Toxicity, Videos Friday, June 29th, 2012

Video: Massive anti-nuclear protest in Tokyo at Prime Minister’s official residence June 2012.

(CNN) Energy-starved Japan will regain nuclear-powered electricity on Sunday, as the first reactor to be switched on since last year’s Fukushima disaster comes online.

Kansai Electric Power Co. Ltd. (KEPCO) told CNN Wednesday that the No. 3 reactor at the country’s Ohi Nuclear Power Plant will be activated on July 1 and start providing electricity to western Japan — which includes Osaka, Japan’s second biggest city by July 4. Ohi’s No. 4 reactor is also scheduled to resume operations by July 24.

All 50 commercial nuclear reactors in Japan have been offline since May 5 for safety checks. The government has been conducting simulation tests for restarting its nuclear reactors in response to public concerns over their safety in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant last spring.

Before the March 11 disaster, Japan had relied on nuclear energy for about 30% of its electricity needs, according to government figures.

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