Japanese in Dark Over Nuclear Restarts

摘要

Japanese utilities are increasingly anxious about meeting peak summer power demand. The last three of the country's 54 nuclear reactors go off line for maintenance by the end of April and local authorities have yet to decide whether any will reopen. The UN nuclear watchdog last week endorsed the stringent safety tests ordered by Japan's nuclear regulator after the Fukushima disaster last March, but critics complain the tests are inadequate. And while tough-talking trade minister Yukio Edano says there is a good chance summer demand can be met without restarts, or a repeat of last summer's mandatory power cuts, many are wondering precisely how.