The official, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda, said the so-called stress tests would measure the plants’ ability to withstand larger-than-expected earthquakes and tsunamis, like those that disabled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March.
He said the analyses, which are modeled on those conducted by the European Union on its plants, were intended to give “a sense of assurance” to local residents.
The issue of local acceptance has come to the forefront in Japan as Tokyo tries to persuade regional leaders to allow the restart of dozens of reactors that were originally idled for regular maintenance, but that have not been turned on since the March disaster.
On Wednesday, the governor of southern Saga Prefecture, who will be the first to make the decision, said he would await the results of the new assessments before deciding whether to allow the restart of the two reactors at the Genkai nuclear plant. As the analyses are expected to take time to arrange and conduct, local media reports said that could postpone his decision until at least August.
At present, 35 of Japan’s 54 reactors are offline, some because of earthquake-related damage, but most because of the routine repairs. Under Japanese law, reactors must halt for repairs every 13 months.
Experts warn that if no reactors are turned back on, every reactor in Japan will be idle by April, possibly leading to power shortages.
However, the Fukushima accident has created a popular backlash against nuclear power. As a result, Tokyo faces an uphill battle trying to persuade regional leaders to give the necessary approval to restart their local reactors.