Japan nuclear plants given more time to build antiterrorism facilities

TOKYO, August 26 — The Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan has announced it will revise regulations and push back the deadline for nuclear power plants to construct antiterrorism facilities, effectively extending the start date for their operations. This decision, seen as a relaxation of restrictions, will allow the No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi Prefecture to continue running, as it was set to shut down due to not meeting a construction deadline in December.

Currently, only 12 out of the country's nuclear plants possess these safety measures, while the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture's No. 4 unit is the only one to have implemented them within the original timeframe. The watchdog released a draft revision in June and invited public feedback, but faced criticism that the facilities should have been completed before the plants began operating and that the authority was giving in to power company demands.

The amendment will apply to plants that have not yet fulfilled their deadlines. The authority mandated these antiterrorism facilities, including a control room, pumps, and other equipment, in the aftermath of the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. They are intended to protect against events like targeted aerial assaults.

Regardless of whether a plant is restarted, those that failed to construct the facilities by the deadline would have been forced to shut down.