Japan's Fukushima province plans nuclear-free future

Dec 28, 2011, 9:22 GMT

Tokyo - The Japanese prefecture of Fukushima wants a nuclear-free future, according to a reconstruction plan adopted Wednesday, after suffering the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.

Under the plan, the provincial government panel called on the federal government and Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) to shut down all 10 nuclear reactors in the prefecture. Six of them are at the heavily damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, and four are at the Fukushima Daini power station.

The national government and TEPCO recently announced that the damaged reactors, where a March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns releasing radioactive materials, were now under control. It will take an estimated 40 years to decommission them completely.

Following the nuclear accident, Fukushima prefecture now wants to invest in renewable energy instead.

Provincial Governor Yuhei Sato said the regional reconstruction plan was aimed at attracting back inhabitants, especially younger people, who fled Fukushima after the nuclear disaster.

On Wednesday, Sato met Environment Minister Goshi Hosono, who plans to construct a temporary storage site for contaminated waste in Fukushima, near the damaged plant. The province is expected to decide soon on the proposal.

To build the storage site, the central government in Tokyo is considering buying contaminated land from locals who will not be able to return safely for many years.

Contaminated waste could be stored on the site from 2015, and remain there for up to 30 years, according to government plans. The issue of long-term nuclear waste storage has not yet been resolved.