Japanese reactor fails to pass post-Fukushima safety review

By Anadolu staff

A nuclear reactor in Japan’s central Fukui province has failed to pass its restart safety review, local media said on Wednesday.

This is the first such case since the regulatory body's founding after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, Tokyo-based Kyodo News Agency reported.

"The No. 2 reactor at the Tsuruga plant in central Japan, operated by Japan Atomic Power Co., fell short of the safety requirements due to a possible active fault underneath the offline unit," the agency said in its report.

The Tsuruga nuclear plant is a two-unit complex, the first one likely to be scrapped while the second one which started commercial operations in February 1987, went offline in May 2011.

So far, 17 reactors among the 27 that have been put forward for safety screening nationwide have cleared the process, according to the report.

Japan currently has 54 reactors and 17 nuclear power plants.

On Thursday, Japan also stopped its first attempt to retrieve melted fuel debris at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The Fukushima nuclear plant was damaged when a magnitude 9 earthquake, followed by a tsunami, struck Japan in 2011.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid