Tokaimura mayor calls for scrapping Tokai No. 2 nuclear plant

Tokaimura mayor calls for scrapping Tokai No. 2 nuclear plant

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The mayor of a village hosting the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power station in Ibaraki Prefecture told the central government on Tuesday that the plant should be scrapped because it is aging and located near an area where many people live, village officials said.

Tatsuya Murakami, the head of Tokaimura, said during a meeting with nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono in Tokyo that the plant does not meet location requirements because one million people live within a 30-kilometer radius.

"Shouldn't the plant be decommissioned?" he was quoted as saying. Murakami also noted the plant is located near Tokyo.

The Tokai No. 2 plant has one boiling water reactor which has been in operation since 1978. The reactor, capable of producing 1.1 million kilowatts of electricity, is currently undergoing a regular checkup.

Public distrust toward nuclear power ...

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