Japan now says U.N. can inspect plant hit by quake
The Japanese government will allow U.N. inspectors to examine a nuclear power plant that leaked radioactivity last week after a powerful earthquake, giving in to demands by local officials, a news report said Sunday.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant -- the world’s largest in terms of capacity -- announced a number of leaks and malfunctions in the wake of last Monday’s magnitude 6.8 quake, which killed 10 people and injured more than 1,000.
The government and regulators have concluded that the leaks posed no danger, and Japan last week rejected an offer from the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect the plant.
But the government changed course after a letter and petition were submitted by local officials Sunday, Kyodo News agency reported.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Gov. Hirohiko Izumida of Niigata prefecture said the plant’s problems and leaks had stirred “great unease” among residents.
Izumida said an inspection by the IAEA would ease fears, and he called for a team to be invited “as quickly as possible.”
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