Japan: Fukushima nuclear plant to be shut down

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Eight years after it was partially damaged by a tsunami, the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant is set to be closed down, Japan's electric utility company announced on Wednesday.

Tokyo Electric Power Company said it has decided to shut down the plant, lies about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the Daiichi nuclear power plant, that faced meltdown after the 2011 disaster, Japanese daily The Mainichi reported.

Both Daini and Daiichi were damaged in the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, however, Daini managed to survive and Daiichi faced meltdown.

"It means that all 10 nuclear reactors in the northeastern prefecture, including the six at the Fukushima Daiichi complex, will be scrapped, though this will take decades," the daily said.

Tomoaki Kobayakawa, president of the company, conveyed the decision to Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori.

The likely cost of decommissioning work of the four nuclear reactors at the Daini plant will be some 280 billion yen ($2.6 billion), and require over 40 years, added the news report.

"The power company plans to build an on-site facility to store spent nuclear fuel from the plant, though it has yet to pick a final disposal site for the fuel," it said.

Thousands of nearby residents had to flee their homes as the damaged reactors released a massive amount of radioactive materials into the air.

In April, Japan began to partially allow residents of a site near Fukushima to return to their homes. Authorities had partially lifted a mandatory evacuation order in the town of Okuma, with radiation levels lowered after thorough "decontamination work."