TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio on Friday instructed his government to flesh out new nuclear safety regulations to dispel concerns about the country’s plans to extend the operating life of existing reactors.

Kishida also instructed officials to ensure that nuclear reactors undergo accurate safety checks.

The government is preparing to submit legislation to parliament to allow nuclear reactors to stay in operation beyond the current limit of 60 years.

The move has been drawing criticism that the government made a hasty decision that would represent a major shift in the country’s nuclear policy that has been in place since a triple reactor meltdown in Fukushima Prefecture in 2011.

“We were asked to give elaborate explanations on the objective of the latest policy move, in order to eliminate people’s concerns as much as possible,” industry minister NISHIMURA Yasutoshi told a press conference after a meeting with Kishida.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority this week approved the plan to extend the reactors’ operating life. But the decision came in a rare vote after one of the commissioners opposed the move.

Nishimura met Kazuhiro Ikebe, chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, and asked the industry for continued efforts to improve nuclear safety.

JIJI Press