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Kansai reactors clear initial safety rules

Tokyo - Japan's nuclear regulator gave an initial safety clearance on Wednesday to two reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power, the second approval under new rules introduced after the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Kansai, Japan's most nuclear-reliant utility that provides power to the country's second biggest metropolitan area, also said it hoped to hike electricity rates for a second time from April, stating that its corporate survival was "at risk.

"At current rates, we believe that we will not be able to avoid a loss in the fiscal year 2014 and 2015," said Kansai Electric President Makoto Yagi at a news briefing in Osaka. 

The utility has lost almost $5bn since Fukushima.

Reactors offline

All 48 of Japan's nuclear reactors were gradually taken offline after the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, which set off the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Nuclear operators have turned to more expensive fossil fuels to generate electricity, pushing many into a sustained period of losses.

A majority of Japan's public remains opposed to atomic power and memories of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown are raw for many evacuees still living in temporary housing and unlikely to return to their homes.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority's (NRA) draft safety approval of Kansai's Takahama No 3 and No 4 reactors will now open for a month-long public comment period.

The Takahama plant uses plutonium mixed oxide fuel, which is still controversial.

"I am not saying that (the plant) is safe, or that safety was confirmed or that we determined that it is not safe.

"We completed an evaluation into whether it meets the necessary requirements to operate," NRA chairperson Shuichi Tanaka said.

Regulatory clearance

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government wants to restart plants that pass the regulator's checks. The election win for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner gives the government more clout to push its reflationary policies and restart reactors.

Kansai will be the second utility to receive regulatory clearance to restart after Kyushu Electric Power's Sendai plant got the nod earlier this year.

There remains no timetable for restarts, but the Sendai plant is widely expected to resume operations early next year.

Shares in Kansai Electric gained 1.9% on Wednesday, compared to 0.4% rise for the Nikkei average.

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