Back to Square One

Well, that's a useful revelation.  Japan's No. 1 reactor at Tsuruga is the oldest commercial reactor in use in Japan.  Japan Atomic Power Co. had announced plans that would have it constructing two new reactors at that site.  Before the Fukushima disaster occurred.  Which has since motivated Japan's government, seared with the responsibility it had casually relegated to the power company, to insist on greater accountability.

And which has almost convinced the Japanese public that they can get by without their huge reliance on nuclear power.  They can't, really.  This island nation is hugely dependent on nuclear energy; it has no natural energy resources, and must import whatever it can to supplement nuclear power, which is the most efficient and cleanest energy source and could be a safe one, but not on a vulnerable set of islands beset with the frailty of shifting tectonic plates.

And according to the Japan Meteorological Agency there are currently 208 active volcanoes across Japan; roughly 1/10 of 840 active volcanoes in the world.  Mount Fuji, not far from Tokyo is an active volcano, though the country also has many inactive ones.  An average of ten volcanoes yearly erupt in Japan, sometimes causing huge damage, though "active" designates eruptions within ten thousand years or those with vigorous fumarolic activity.

Now that, finally, a closer inspection of the nation's nuclear facilities has revealed through the Nuclear Regulation Authority that an active fault exists directly below the No. 2 reactor at Tsuruga in the central Japan prefecture of Fukui, that decision to build additional reactors reeks of grim stupidity.  Due care has not been taken to ensure that the placement of nuclear reactors is on safe terrain.

Almost two years after the dread nuclear accident following the tsunami in the wake of the most powerful earthquake ever experienced in Japan, let alone elsewhere on the Globe, emergency teams are still attempting to limit the radiation leaks damages caused by the breakdown of four of the Fukushima plant's five reactors.

"We cannot conduct safety checks for the Tsuruga reactors to restart at this point", announced chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority.  The regulatory law to ensure that nuclear plants are not built on active fault lines is there, but nothing was done to actively prevent that from happening.  If another, back-up study confirms the fault's existence, the plant will have to undergo decommissioning.

For its part, Japan Atomic Power Co. claimed the results of the survey were "totally unacceptable".  Seems it has learned very little from the catastrophe that occurred in March of 2011.  Its humble apologies post-nuclear meltdown relating to its lack of due diligence and responsibility no longer appears to trouble its decision-making.

The company now plans to initiate an independent investigation into the seismic stability of the area where it appears determined to build several more nuclear plants.  Japan Atomic Power Co. defying the authority and professionalism of the Nuclear Regulation Authority.

An aerial view shows the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, from over the Pacific off Minamisoma, in this photo taken by Kyodo September 11, 2012, to mark the one and a half years anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. (REUTERS/Kyodo)