Kashiwazaki, Niigata Pref. –
Kashiwazaki Mayor Masahiro Sakurai, tolerant of a proposed restart of a Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) nuclear power plant, has won a third term in an election in the city.
Sakurai, 62, has expressed his willingness to conditionally green-light the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which straddles Kashiwazaki and the village of Kariwa, both in Niigata Prefecture.
The focus now shifts to what decision Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi will make as he has not disclosed his view on the resumption of the plant’s operations.
In Sunday’s mayoral election, Sakurai defeated his rivals, including Yumiko Abe, 62, co-leader of a civic group, who is against the resumption.
Ahead of Sakurai’s victory, Kariwa Mayor Hiroo Shinada, 67, who has also accepted the plant’s restart, won a seventh term uncontested Tuesday.
Tepco suspended the operations of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant following the March 2011 triple meltdown at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station.
With safety inspections completed at the No. 7 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in June, the company has finished its preparations to restart the reactor. It is only waiting for consent of local governments.
However, some municipalities around the plant are cautious about the restart. It is unclear whether all local governments, including the prefecture, will agree to the reactivation.