Fukushima towns to call for scrapping all reactors

Municipal leaders in Fukushima will demand the decommissioning of all the 10 nuclear reactors in the prefecture, not just the damaged 4.

Mayors and assembly chiefs from the host towns of Futaba, Okuma, Tomioka and Naraha have for the first time jointly made their stance public after a meeting on Thursday.

Futaba and Okuma host the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where 4 of the 6 reactors were crippled in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and are to be scrapped.

Tomioka and Naraha host the Fukushima Daini plant. Its 4 reactors escaped serious damage in the disaster.

Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company has yet to make clear what it will do with the remaining 6 reactors.

Many leaders said they can think of no alternative other than decommissioning all reactors when residents have been forced to live as evacuees for 2 and half years.

The towns plan to file the requests with the central government and TEPCO after their assemblies approve the plan.

Fukushima Prefecture Governor Yuhei Sato and the prefectural assembly have repeatedly called for all the reactors to be scrapped.

The chief of the utility's Fukushima headquarters, Yoshiyuki Ishizaki, said he wants to discuss the issue with the towns. But he said the firm is unable to reach a conclusion now because it must weigh both local views and the nation's energy policy.
Aug. 29, 2013 - Updated 10:20 UTC