BREAKING NEWS

Japan local gov'ts step back from nuclear restarts

TOKYO - The mayor of a southern Japanese town hosting a nuclear power plant has suspended his consent for restarting two idled reactors and the governor of the region said he cannot further consider reactor restarts while the government's nuclear policy remains unclear, Kyodo news agency said on Thursday.
The step back from granting approvals, seen as necessary to restart the reactors after they were shut for routine maintenance, delivers a further blow to the country's efforts to ease tight power supplies after the devastating March 11 earthquake triggered a nuclear crisis and heightened concerns about the safety of nuclear power.