Fukushima govt to stop all nuke reactors in its area

The governor of Fukushima called on the central government and TEPCO to decommission all nuclear reactors in the Japanese prefecture.

"We've decided to state clearly in our reconstruction plan that we will demand the nuclear power operator and the central government decomission all the reactors in our prefecture," Governor Yuhei Sato was quoted by a prefecture official as saying at a news conference.

Tepco, which supplies Tokyo and surrounding areas, has said it would decomission the four most damaged reactors at its Fukushima Daiichi plant. But it has another six reactors in the prefecture, about 200 km north of Tokyo, which it would like to keep running once their restarts are approved.

The nuclear operator's direct supervisor is the country's nuclear watchdog, but it has an agreement with the prefectural government to consult with it on operating atomic reactors there.

Tepco, the sole utility that operates nuclear plants in Fukushima, has set aside 940 billion yen or $12 billion to decomission the critical four Fukushima Daiichi reactors, and such costs could more than double if it is forced to abolish the remaining six units, with total capacity of 6,284 megawatts.

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