Japan to restart idled nuclear reactors

Plants to go online in the autumn of 2014.

Minister for Industry Toshimitsu Motegi said that Japan will be ready to re-start its idled nuclear plants by next autumn after the launch of new security laws.

"After the approval of the new safety standards, we think we can start in the fall," he said.

The government, however, will be forced to ask the permission of the communities that house the reactors and is expected to receive strong opposition from these communities. Street protests are expected to greet the reopening of the reactors.

Motegi said new safety procedures will be introduced.

“If operators deem it appropriate, we will be able to turn on the power plants in the autumn. We are aware that the law requires us to ask permission of the communities that host reactors, and we will endeavor to get it. "

Of the 50 nuclear power plants throughout Japan, 48 remain closed after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011. Japan is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of atomic energy.

Due to low energy prices stemming from nuclear power, Japan has recovered from the massive devastation of World War II and is currently the third largest economy in the world for industrial production and finance.