Japan government fears non-nuclear summer will hamper restarts via Reuters

(Reuters) – Japan’s government is rushing to try to restart two nuclear reactors, idled after the Fukushima crisis, by next month out of what experts say is a fear that surviving a total shutdown would make it hard to convince the public that atomic energy is vital.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and three cabinet ministers are to meet for a third time on Friday to discuss the possible restarts of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co’s Ohi plant in Fukui, western Japan – a region dubbed the “nuclear arcade” for the string of atomic plants that dot its coast.

Trade minister Yukio Edano, who holds the energy portfolio, could travel to Fukui as early as Sunday to seek local approval for the restarts, Japanese media said.

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