Japan's idled nuclear reactors need to pass new safety assessments+

TOKYO, July 11 Kyodo -
Japan's nuclear power reactors must undergo additional safety assessments dubbed ''stress tests,'' and those now idled for regular checkups must pass the first stage of the reviews in order to restart, the government said Monday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference the tests will be carried out in two stages, taking into account standards proposed by the European Union in the wake of the crisis triggered at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant by the massive earthquake and tsunami in March.
Edano said the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan will play a major role in conducting the tests. As the commission is ''an independent'' body, unlike the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the government cannot say when the screenings will begin and finish, he said.
The decision is almost certain to ensure that none of the 35 idled nuclear reactors will resume operating this month and there will likely be a great impact on Japan's power supply crunch this summer.
Amid deep-seated public concerns about the safety of nuclear facilities, the tests are aimed at insuring that 54 Japanese nuclear reactors are capable of withstanding the kind of catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country's northeast on March 11.
The safety agency, under the wing of the industry ministry, had already said these reactors have been proven to be safe following inspections after the Fukushima crisis. But not everyone is convinced by the agency's claims partly because it is part of the ministry, which has promoted the use of nuclear energy over the years.
Under the new framework, the agency will still be in charge of designing the scope of safety tests. But the safety commission, which until now was not involved in the process of determining the restart of an idled reactor, will be tasked with giving the final go-ahead, after utilities receive checks on the results of their inspections from the agency.
The safety agency is expected to outline the new format for safety tests in the coming days, government officials said.
The first review will analyze to what extent nuclear plants ready to be restarted can tolerate the damage that could be incurred under such extraordinary circumstances.
The second stage of the tests will be more comprehensive and carried out on all nuclear plants. Depending on the results, Japanese nuclear reactors that are now in operation could be suspended.
The announcement from Edano came after Prime Minister Naoto Kan added to public confusion about Japan's nuclear policy by abruptly ordering last week the carrying out of additional safety tests akin to Europe's.
Kan is widely expected to resign this summer, and Edano, the top government spokesman, said the specifics of the tests will ''basically'' remain even if the government changes.
Edano also said that Kan hopes to hold a news conference this week to explain his government's additional efforts to insure nuclear safety.
A senior government official said separately Kan is expected to speak about the prospects of Japan's power supply and demand, taking into mind concerns that more nuclear reactors will start to undergo regular checkups as time passes.
Prior to the prime minister's order, the government had said it was safe to restart reactors offline for routine maintenance, citing reviews conducted by the safety agency.
Kan, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda and other Cabinet members had been inconsistent about conditions for their restart, leading local leaders in Saga Prefecture to retract or put off decisions to approve the rebooting of two reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant.
The Genkai reactors were to have been the first to be reactivated since the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami triggered the crisis at the Fukushima plant.
By summer next year, all 19 of the nuclear reactors operating now will go offline for regular checkups.
In Japan, nuclear reactors must in principle be shut down for inspection after every 13 months in service and their operators need to obtain consent from local governments to restart them, although that is not required under the law.
The need for ''stress tests'' was touched on in late June during a ministerial meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, which was convened in the wake of the Fukushima crisis.
==Kyodo