Continued Shutdown of Japanese Nuclear Reactors Leaves Many Seeking Jobs

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Following the Great East Japan earthquake, tsunami, and ensuing nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, owned and operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Incorporated (TYO:9501) (TEPCO) (Tokyo), in March 2011, Japan's fleet of 54 nuclear reactors shut down one by one until none remained. In recent months, two reactors at the Oi Nuclear Power Station, which is owned and operated by Kansai Electric Power Company Incorporated (TYO:9503) (Osaka, Japan) (Kanden), have restarted, but under Japanese law they must shut down again in 13 months for scheduled maintenance.

Nuclear maintenance projects and general day-to-day maintenance employ hundreds of people in the Reinan region of the Fukui prefecture, approximately 200 miles northwest of Tokyo. This area is home to two nuclear plants, Oi and the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Station, which is owned and operated by the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) (Tokyo). Between the two plants, there are a total of six nuclear reactors on staggered maintenance schedules. Some local firms make all of their earnings from scheduled maintenances at Kanden's plant. However, with the usual cycle of maintenance disrupted at these two plants, local workers are finding themselves up to 12 months of unemployment between turnarounds. Consequently, local recruiting firms are being swamped and the stability of the economy is beginning to suffer. Last December, local labor board officials reported that recruitment firms had seen twice as many applicants in October as in April 2012.

To further complicate matters, the newly formed arm of the Ministry of the Environment, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, has begun its site surveys at the six nuclear plants in Fukui prefecture that have identified as potentially sitting on top of active fault lines. The inspection at Tsuruga has already begun. It is expected that any facility where a normal fault line is found will be shut down and the reactor decommissioned.

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