Fukui, Niigata governors reluctant to accept restart of nuke plants+

FUKUI, Japan, June 20 Kyodo -
The governors of Fukui and Niigata prefectures showed reluctance Monday toward accepting the central government's call for restarting nuclear reactors after their regular checkups.
Issei Nishikawa, the governor of Fukui Prefecture where 14 reactors are located, the most of any prefecture, said at press conference, ''What we should think of first is the safety of people in our prefecture and people of this nation.''
''It remains unclear even after 100 days have passed since the nuclear disaster occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant how earthquakes and tsunami as well as the aging of nuclear reactors affect a power plant,'' he said.
Fukui has the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor and 13 commercial reactors, of which six have halted operations due to regular checkups, troubles and other reasons.
His comments came after industry minister Banri Kaieda called on Saturday for the restart of suspended nuclear reactors, saying immediate countermeasures for severe accidents have been taken ''appropriately'' at the nation's nuclear power plants.
Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida also sounded cautious about resuming operations of three reactors which remain idle out of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant's seven reactors.
''I feel a sense of discomfort that the safety declaration was issued although the cause of the Fukushima accident has yet to be discovered,'' he said at a press conference. ''We will put the top priority on safety.''
Meanwhile, the governor of Kagoshima Prefecture showed understanding toward Kaieda's recent call on local governments to accept the restart of reactors and expressed hope the state will offer sufficient explanation on the matter to local residents going forward.
Kagoshima Gov. Yuichiro Ito said, ''We understood (Kaieda's call) as remarks by the person in charge of the nation's energy supply.''
In Kagoshima, one reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant remains idle.
Ito added, however, it would be premature to make a decision on a restart immediately, while saying there is a need to exchange views between the central and local governments.
Local governments hosting nuclear power plants have appeared cautious due to the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
The state requested that the Hamaoka nuclear plant on a major active fault zone in Shizuoka Prefecture be shut down, but prefectural and local authorities elsewhere have been at a loss as to why it could determine other nuclear plants are deemed safe.
Fukui Gov. Nishikawa criticized the state government for not providing enough explanation about the Hamaoka plant situation, saying, ''We've received no explanation on why the state ordered only Hamaoka to be shut down.''
Local governments need to consent to a restart in accordance with their safety agreements with power plant operators.
==Kyodo