Last Reactor of 50 in Japan Is Shut Down after Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Last Reactor of 50 in Japan Is Shut Down
By MARTIN FACKLER

TOKYO — Japan's last operating reactor was taken offline Saturday, as
public distrust created by last year's nuclear disaster forced the
nation to at least temporarily do without atomic power for the first
time in 42 years.

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The reactor, at the Tomari plant on the northern island of Hokkaido,
was shut down for legally mandated maintenance, said its operator,
Hokkaido Electric. As Japan's 50 functional commercial reactors have
been shut down one by one for maintenance, none have been restarted
because of safety concerns since last year's Fukushima disaster.

Desperate to avert possible power shortages this summer, the
government has tried to convince the public to allow some of the
reactors to be restarted. It has conducted simulated stress tests to
show whether reactors can withstand the sort of immense earthquake and
tsunami that knocked out the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

However, the public has not accepted the tests, which were conducted
largely behind closed doors. A number of critics have demanded more
sweeping changes, like the creation of a more independent nuclear
regulatory agency.

Cozy ties between officials in the Trade Ministry, which both
regulates and promotes nuclear power, and plant operators are widely
seen as having left the Fukushima plant without adequate defenses
against natural disaster. This distrust fed criticism that the
authorities failed to protect the public after the accident, and
instead tried to cover up the full dangers.

About 300 protesters gathered Saturday in front of the Trade Ministry
to celebrate the temporary shutdown of the nation's nuclear program,
and to call for a permanent end.

Tadao Sakuma, 81, who had joined a hunger strike in front of the
ministry to oppose restarting the plants, toasted the news about the
Tomari reactor. "I want all reactors to be scrapped, and I'm going to
live 10 — no, 20 — years to see that through," he said.

Hiroko Tabuchi contributed reporting.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/world/asia/last-reactor-of-50-in-japan-is-shut-down.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

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