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TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese nuclear power plant on Thursday called for a massive earthquake that destroyed electricity on the island of Hokkaido in the north of the country, recalling the Fukushima disaster more than seven years ago.
FILE PHOTO: The Tomari Nuclear Power Plant at Hokkaido Electric Power is seen in the city of Tomari, Hokkaido Island, northern Japan, in the photo taken by Kyodo on May 5, 2012. CREDIT REUTERS / Kyodo
Tomari's three-reactor nuclear power plant, operated by Hokkaido Electric Power (9509.t) and after the Fukushima disaster, the country lost energy after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit the island in the early morning, the government said.
The station's fuel rods are being cooled with backup power supplied by diesel generators, cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Thursday.
There were no radiation irregularities at the factory, said Suga, quoting the operator.
The atomic regulator said diesel generators have enough fuel to last seven days.
According to the NHK television channel, more than 100 people were injured and 19 are missing.
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest recorded in Japan, hit the north coast of Honshu. The earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that devastated a wide swath of the Pacific coast and killed nearly 20,000 people.
The earthquake destroyed the energy at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and the tsunami-submerged diesel generators were put into reactors, causing a series of explosions and collapses during the worst nuclear disaster in the world since years.
The crisis led to the closure of the country's nuclear industry, which was once the third largest in the world. Seven reactors returned online after an extended license renewal process.
The majority of the Japanese remain opposed to nuclear energy after Fukushima has highlighted the deficiencies of regulation and operational procedures in the industry.
Hokkaido Electric shut down all fossil fuel plants, reducing energy to nearly 3 million customers, a spokesman told Reuters.
Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko has asked Hokkaido Electric to restart its largest coal plant after the earthquake.
The Black Chitose Airport, a popular gateway to the north of the main islands of Japan, is the second major airport to be destroyed in the country two days after the typhoon.
Japan is experiencing a record tourist boom and will host the Olympics in 2020.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who arrived at his office before 6 am, told reporters that saving his life was the priority as his government set up a command center to coordinate relief and rescue.
A fire broke out in a steel mill operated by Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing (5632.T) in the city of Muroran, but has been largely under control, said a spokesman to Reuters.
Idemitsu Kosan, (5019.TThe second largest refiner in Japan, in terms of turnover, stopped all refinery and product shipments to the Hokkaido refinery (150,000 barrels a day), a Reuters official told Reuters.
Report by William Mallard and Osamu Tsukimori; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick
