Most Japanese towns undecided on reactor restarts

Most Japanese towns were undecided about restarting their nuclear reactors even if they pass  the stress test, a newspaper survey suggested.

The survey also revealed that three Japanese towns would be willing to restart their nuclear reactors if they pass government stress tests, while two were against the idea. 

The stress tests are aimed at showing the reactors can withstand the scale of disaster that crippled the Fukushima reactors last year.

The three plants that might win approval to restart are the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant operated by Tokyo Electric, the Takahama plant operated by Kansai Electric and Kyushu Electric's Genkai plant, the Sankei newspaper said.

Two local governments said they rejected the tests and 24 said they were undecided, according to the survey, a sign that even U.N. experts' approval of the tests isn't enough to dispel deep-rooted mistrust of the country's nuclear policy.

The government hopes the stress tests will help persuade a wary public that it is safe to restart some of the reactors and avoid an economically crippling power crunch during the peak summer season.

For the source of this story, click here.