Kashiwazaki Mayor Accepting TEPCO N-Plant Restart Re-Elected

   Kashiwazaki, Niigata Pref., Nov. 18 (Jiji Press)--Kashiwazaki Mayor Masahiro Sakurai, tolerant of a proposed restart of a Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. nuclear power plant, has won a third term in an election in the central Japan city.
   Sakurai, 62, has expressed his willingness to greenlight conditionally the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which straddles Kashiwazaki and the village of Kariwa, both in Niigata Prefecture.
   The focus now shifts to what decision Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi will make as he has not disclosed his view on the resumption of the plant's operations.
   In Sunday's mayoral election, Sakurai defeated his rivals, including Yumiko Abe, 62, co-leader of a civic group, who is against the resumption.
   Ahead of Sakurai's victory, Kariwa Mayor Hiroo Shinada, 67, who has also accepted the plant's restart, won a seventh term uncontested Tuesday.

(2024/11/18-09:53)