Japan halts 3 reactors after quake threat

Hamaoka Reactor Suspension underscores Japan's nuclear safety response to earthquake risk after Fukushima, as Chubu Electric halts reactors in Shizuoka amid seismic hazard forecasts, tsunami concerns, and evacuation planning to mitigate potential radiation impacts.

Japan's prime minister said he instructed a utility to halt all three reactors at a power plant in central Japan because of safety concerns in the event of a major earthquake and tsunami.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the measure was to ensure safety, citing experts' forecast of a 90 per cent probability of a major quake striking the central region within 30 years.

The government has asked operator Chubu Electric Power Co. to suspend two running reactors and a third shut for a regular inspection at its coastal Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo.

“If an accident occurs at Hamaoka, involving fuel rods fully exposed inside reactors, it could create serious consequences,” Kan said.

Kan said the safety measure was made after the radiation crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, where reports of fuel rods likely melting emerged after it was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami March 11 that also left more than 25,000 people dead and missing on the northeast coast.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant lost its power and cooling systems, triggering fires, explosions and radiation leaks, with spiking radiation levels in the world's second-worst nuclear accident.

Radiation leaks from the Fukushima plant have forced 80,000 people living within a 20-kilometre radius to evacuate their homes. Many are staying in gymnasiums and community centres.

Residents in Shizuoka have long demanded suspension of the Hamaoka reactors.

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