TOKYO: Japan’s nuclear watchdog said Wednesday it is scrapping the safety screening for two reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in central Japan after the plant’s operator was found to have fabricated data about earthquake risks, in a setback to Japan’s attempts to accelerate reactor restarts to boost nuclear energy use.
Chubu Electric Power Co had applied for safety screening to resume operations at the No 3 and 4 reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in 2014 and 2015. Two other reactors at the plant are being decommissioned, and a fifth is idle. The plant, about 200 kilometres west of Tokyo, is located on a coastal area known for potential risks from so-called Nankai Trough megaquakes.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said it started an internal investigation in February after receiving a tip from a whistleblower that the utility had for years provided fabricated data that underestimated potential seismic risks.
The regulator suspended the screening for the reactors after it confirmed the falsification and the utility acknowledged the fabrication in mid-December, said Shinsuke Yamanaka, the watchdog’s chair.