TOKYO
Antinuclear shareholders in major Japanese utilities called for an end to nuclear power generation at general shareholders’ meetings on Wednesday, citing safety concerns and a lack of support in local communities.
Among the proposals at the meetings of eight power producers were withdrawal from the nuclear power business and decommissioning of plants, but the utilities rejected them, citing nuclear power’s contribution to stable supply of electricity and lower energy prices.
At the meeting of Kansai Electric Power Co attended by around 680 shareholders, Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa said the utility should move away from nuclear dependency amid continuing repercussions from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
But Kansai Electric President Shigeki Iwane said the utility in western Japan will cut electricity rates from August along with the restart of the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at its Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast.
One shareholder pointed out that “massive damage will be caused if a ballistic missile launched by North Korea falls onto the nuclear plant.”
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