Hamaoka suspension could adversely affect employment, warns minister

TOKYO, May 10 Kyodo -
The planned suspension of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant may have a negative impact on Japan's employment conditions, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Tuesday, amid fears the move will hit major companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp.
''I think we will see a certain effect on employment and other areas. We must analyze it thoroughly,'' Noda told reporters, after being asked about the potential impact on the economy from Chubu Electric Power Co.'s decision to halt the complex on the Pacific.
''There might be spillover effects'' on the economy, Noda said. But he added, ''Safety (at the plant) must come above all else. We will try to win understanding while making a full response'' to support those negatively affected.
Many big manufacturers, also including Toshiba Corp., have production facilities within Chubu Electric Power's service area, which covers central Japan prefectures. It is feared the suspension will cause a power supply shortage in the area, which could force industrial facilities to cut operating hours and reduce the number of employees.
The mayor of Omaezaki, home to the Hamaoka complex, called on the government Tuesday to help the city deal with growing concerns among citizens about whether jobs would be maintained following the shutdown of the plant.
The mayor, Shigeo Ishihara, also asked for the state's support in the areas of economy and labor during a meeting with industry minister Banri Kaieda in Tokyo given about 1,200 people in the city work for the plant and a large part of its budget revenue comes from hosting the plant.
Kaieda promised to support the city over the matters, according to Ishihara.
The suspension of the Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, is expected to last for around two years until the utility finishes implementing sufficient preventive steps against major tsunamis that may be triggered due to a possible powerful quake.
Chubu Electric, based in Nagoya in the adjacent prefecture of Aichi, is expected to reboot its suspended thermal power plants to secure sufficient output capacity and meet peak demand for electricity in the summer.
Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura asked the government to help ensure a stable supply of electricity in the region during a meeting with Kaieda, minister of economy, trade and industry.
Omura also urged the government to consider sharing the additional costs that will result from the Hamaoka suspension following its request. ''I don't think it is appropriate for Chubu's industries to shoulder'' all the additional burden, Omura said.
The plant's operator has accepted a request from Prime Minister Naoto Kan to suspend all of the reactors at the power station due to the extremely high possibility that a powerful earthquake may hit the region in the next 30 years.
The request came as the government struggles to ensure safety at atomic power plants nationwide in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Also Tuesday, Fumio Kawaguchi, who heads a business lobby in the area, the Chubu Economic Federation, called on the government to ''assume its responsibility for stably supplying electricity.''
Kawaguchi said at a press conference in Nagoya that a sound economy in Chubu could benefit reconstruction work following the disaster in northeastern Japan, which has disrupted the supply chain of industrial products throughout the country.