Regarding TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Saito spoke by phone on the 18th with Governor Hanazumi of Niigata Prefecture, where the plant is located, and asked for their understanding toward restarting the plant.
Three years ago, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture had a series of counter-terrorism problems, and the Nuclear Regulation Authority issued an order effectively banning its operation, but this order was lifted in December last year. The focus is on local consent for restarting.
Under these circumstances, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Saito held a press conference after the Cabinet meeting on the 18th, and spoke by phone with Governor Hanazumi of Niigata Prefecture, Mayor Sakurai of Kashiwazaki City, and Mayor Shinada of Kariwa Village, and discussed the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. He made it clear that he asked for understanding.
During the meeting, Minister Saito stated that he would do his best to provide explanations to gain the understanding of the local community, that he would work to improve the effectiveness of disaster countermeasures at nuclear power plants based on the lessons learned from the Noto Peninsula earthquake, and that he would ask TEPCO to improve its management. As for the above issues, he explained that he instructed them to respond with a sense of urgency in order to restore trust.
During the press conference, Minister Saito said, ``We would like to proceed carefully, taking into account the actual circumstances of the region,'' and on the 21st, he dispatched executives from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy to Niigata Prefecture, and once again asked Governor Hanazumi and others. , expressed the idea of having these government policies explained.