On the 14th, the mayors of four municipalities in Aomori Prefecture that have nuclear-related facilities met with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Saito and requested that he provide a path forward for the operation of reprocessing plants and other facilities.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry visited Higashidori Village, where Tohoku Electric Power's Higashidori Nuclear Power Plant is located, Oma Town, where the Oma Nuclear Power Plant is under construction, Rokkasho Village, where the reprocessing plant is located, and Mutsu, where an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel is under construction. He is the mayor of the city's four municipalities.
The four met with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Saito, and Mutsu City Mayor Tomoya Yamamoto handed them a written request.
The request requests that the government provide a path to restarting the operations of reprocessing plants and nuclear power plants, which continue to be postponed, promote nuclear fuel cycle policies, and work to resolve regional issues including financial support. Masu.
In response, Minister Saito replied, ``I would like to provide guidance so that operators can respond appropriately and promptly to the Nuclear Regulation Authority's review.''
In Aomori Prefecture, operations and restarts continue to be postponed, with the completion of reprocessing plants being postponed and the start date of intermediate storage facilities being moved from the second half of this fiscal year to the first half of next fiscal year.
After the meeting, Mayor Yamamoto of Mutsu City said, ``Minister Saito was previously involved in nuclear power-related work at the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, and I felt that his thoughts were very similar to ours. We were able to confirm that the municipalities will work together."