TOKYO, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Mayor of Oi town in Japan's western Fukui Prefecture approved the restart of two idled nuclear reactors at a nuclear power plant in the town, local media reported Thursday.
The move followed a nationwide appeal on Friday by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda who urged Japanese people to understand that two idled nuclear reactors in the prefecture must be restarted to protect people's livelihoods and the economy in general.
The No. 3 and 4 reactors at the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture have remained shuttered along with all of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors, following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in March last year that battered a nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture and led to one of the world's worst-ever nuclear disasters.
The accident generated deep concerns among Japanese people over the safety of the plants. But a power shortage this summer in the nation, which depends on the nuclear power for about 30 percent of its energy before the accident, has been pressuring the government to restart the reactors.
Oi reactors are the only candidates that stand the chance to be re-fired in short term. Neither Japanese central government nor local governments had been decisive on the issue.
