Yukio Edano, the Japanese trade minister, said on Sunday that starting May 6 Japan will not have any nuclear reactor in operation, according to a Kyodo News report. At that date Hokkaido Electric Power will shut down its No. 3 unit at the Tomari plant.
The announcement comes amid unclear information about the intentions of the Japanese government, which has been supporting the idea of restarting two reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi nuclear plant, but is facing the public’s disagreement.
The two reactors at Ohi plant are the first which passed the so-called “stress tests” required by the government in order to approve restarts.
Japan would have to tackle a 9.2 percent power shortage in the summer, if all nuclear reactors are offline and no other measures are taken.
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