Approval of Resumption of Nuclear Reactor for Political Survival

The Governor of Hokkaido, Naomichi Suzuki, announced in a regular session of Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly that he would approve resumption of reactor #3 in Tomari Nuclear Power Plant in southwest coast of Hokkaido, facing the Japan Sea. The reactor clears all the conditions for the resumption by Suzuki’s approval, and it is supposed to restart as soon as 2027. It will be the first nuclear reactor in Hokkaido to restart since the severe accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011.

Tomari Nuclear Power Plant is owned by Hokkaido Electric Power Company (HEPCO) and has three nuclear reactors. The reactor #3, with 912 thousand kilowatts of outlet power, started its operation in 2009, which is the newest among those three. Although those three reactors stopped after the accident in Fukushima, reactor #3 passed the examination for resumption in July, 2025.

 

Suzuki announced his position in late November that he would approve resumption of reactor #3, because the resumption should be an unavoidable as a realistic choice. Not only the national government requested Suzuki to approve the resumption, local economic community hoped it with expectation of stable energy supply to the factories, which were planning to be built in Hokkaido. “Paving the way to resumption leads to higher predictability of corporations, promotion of investment and expansion of local employment,” said Suzuki in the meeting of Hokkaido assembly.

 

Nuclear power generation consequently produces nuclear waste and there is no place in Japan to dispose that waste. The research for building new facility for nuclear waste in Japan is ongoing in the towns of Suttsu and Kamoenai, quite close to Tomari village where the nuclear plant is located. Concerning fundamental opposition of the people in Hokkaido against building the facility for the waste, Suzuki keeps on taking negative stance on the facility.

 

Some members in Hokkaido assembly argues that resumption of a nuclear reactor in Tomari, which will produce new used nuclear fuel, contradicts the fact that there is no place the nuclear waste to go. There is a speculation that Suzuki’s approval of resumption may be a sign that he would change his mind from opposition to approval for building a facility for nuclear waste in Hokkaido.

 

Suzuki will end his current term in April, 2027, and supposedly to run for the election for his third term. It is likely that Suzuki did not like to make a controversial decision at the time close to his next election. However, opposition parties in the assembly are going to ask questions on why Suzuki announced his approval for resumption of reactor #3 at this timing, even without any perspective for disposal of nuclear waste.

 

Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly passed an ordinance in 2000, which declared that it was hard for Hokkaido to accept nuclear waste, in order to pass over preferable environment to healthy and cultural life of future generation. It is the main reason why Suzuki has been opposing new facility of nuclear waste in Hokkaido. Approving resumption of nuclear reactor which produces new used nuclear fuel is not compatible with his stance he has been taking.

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