Japan's Hamaoka nuclear plant to cancel application

NHK has learned that Japan's Chubu Electric Power Company is making final arrangements to withdraw its application to the nuclear watchdog for the restart of the No.3 and No.4 reactors at the Hamaoka power plant in central Japan.

It was revealed in January that the utility firm had falsified data for a review carried out by the Nuclear Regulation Authority concerning a hypothetical major earthquake. The utility then gave the regulator false explanations.

Following the scandal, the NRA suspended its review of the Hamaoka power plant and conducted an on-site probe at the utility's headquarters to look into the matter.

Sources say the application's withdrawal does not mean that the utility intends to decommission the reactors. According to sources, the utility will finalize the details regarding the application's withdrawal in the near future and notify the NRA of its intentions.

The utility has been cooperating with the NRA and taking other steps to restart the reactors for more than 10 years.

The chances of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station being restarted will become even more uncertain if the application is withdrawn.

The data tampering at the Hamoaka power plant could create a cloud over Japan's strategic energy policy.

The government has laid out a road map for power generation. It wants to increase the ratio of　nuclear energy to around 20 percent in fiscal 2040.

Achieving that goal will require maintaining and operating the existing 33 nuclear reactors in the country.

That includes the Hamaoka power plant's No.3 to No.5 reactors, with output of around 3.6 million kilowatts.

Some government officials are concerned that the long-term energy goal may not be feasible if those reactors are not restarted.