Japan’s nuclear regulator signed off on the basic safety of a reactor at a third nuclear plant on Wednesday. At a regular meeting, the NRA’s commissioners signed off on a provisional assessment that the Ikata reactor meets new design standards introduced after Fukushima.

The country inches toward rebooting its atomic industry more than four years after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. For the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, resuming nuclear power, which provided about a third of Japan’s electricity supply before Fukushima, is key to lifting the economy out of two decades of anaemic growth.

The safety approval is still only one of three needed before the Nuclear Regulatory Authority gives its final sign off. The consent of local authorities, which is seen as a formality, is also required, along with operational checks.

Located about 700 kms (660 miles) west-southwest of Tokyo on Shikoku island, the Ikata No. 3 reactor started operations in 1994 and has a capacity of 890 megawatts.

bbabo.Net