Japan approves nuclear reactors TOKYO, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has indicated he would approve the construction of more nuclear reactors.
That's an about-face from the previous administration, led by the Democratic Party of Japan and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who announced in September its goal of zero nuclear power by the end of the 2030s.
So far only two of Japan's 50 reactors have been restarted following shutdowns after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.
Abe had said he favored a reconsideration of Japan's nuclear energy policy after his Liberal Democratic Party won the Dec. 16 general election.
Abe, who formed his Cabinet Dec. 27, toured Fukushima Saturday.
The following day, Kyodo News reports, he told a Japanese news program, "The new reactors will be totally different from those at Tepco's Fukushima No. 1 plant that caused the crisis. We will be building them with consent obtained from the Japanese people."
As one of its post-Fukushima measures, Noda's administration banned the building of new nuclear reactors that exist only in the blueprint stage, of which there are nine.
Construction is in progress on three other reactors...
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