Japan nuclear restart in doubt as test plan provokes fury

By Stanley White and Kiyoshi Takenaka

TOKYO | Thu Jul 7, 2011 8:53am EDT

(Reuters) - Japan's government scrambled to assure wary public Thursday that stress testing nuclear reactors did not call into question their safety after confusion over the plan threatened to delay the first restart of reactors since the March 11 earthquake triggered a radiation crisis.

Wednesday's announcement of planned tests prompted the mayor of the southern town of Genkai, who had accepted earlier safety assurances, to call off a planned restart of two reactors at a local plant run by Kyushu Electric Power.

The government has hoped that Genkai's approval would encourage other communities to give a green light to reactor restarts and help avert crippling power blackouts at a time when the Japanese economy is still recovering from the post-quake slump.

Trade Minister Banri Kaieda told reporters stress tests would serve as an additional assurance, suggesting, but not saying explicitly, that local officials did not have to wait with their decisions for the tests results.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/07/us-japan-nuclear-idUSTRE76625H20110707

And start shutting them down in the U.S.

The loss of energy flow is less important than the long-term risks of running the things.