TOKYO, Oct. 5 (Kyodo) — Government auditors said Wednesday funds set aside for subsidies to municipalities that would host nuclear reactors can be slashed by about 65.7 billion yen as construction projects of reactors have been stalled.
The Board of Audit of Japan called on the industry ministry not to accumulate excessive funds for nuclear reactor construction projects that are unlikely to proceed, saying, "Huge expenses will be needed for the future to reconstruct areas damaged by the March natural disaster and to secure the safety of nuclear plants" in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Funds have been set aside to make up for any shortfall in subsidies paid out to local communities in case ongoing projects to build 14 reactors there get under way at around the same time.
While the government hopes to set aside about 190.6 billion yen to that end, only three of the 14 reactors being planned for construction are actually being built.
The three are the No. 1 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Higashidori nuclear power plant, the No. 3 reactor at Chugoku Electric Power Co.'s Shimane plant and Electric Power Development Co.'s Oma facility.
Construction of the remaining 11 reactors has met repeated postponements, with an envisaged Tohoku Electric Power Co. plant in Fukushima Prefecture having seen a delay of as long as 37 years as of fiscal 2009 that ended in March 2010.
The disaster at Tokyo Electric's Fukushima complex has made it difficult for ongoing reactor-building projects to move ahead.
Of the roughly 123.1 billion yen left in the funds at the end of March, about 65.7 billion yen can be slashed because many of the reactor-building projects have not proceeded as planned, the auditors said in its report, adding that about 7.3 billion yen would suffice for the three reactors being built.
"We have set aside necessary amounts, and therefore need to consider what to do about them together with our nuclear policy," said an official of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, an arm of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry.
The funds being set aside are part of the subsidies paid to municipalities from commencement of reactor construction to the start of its operations. The subsidies often pay for the construction of hospitals, and culture- and sports-related facilities in host communities.
Following the earthquake- and tsunami-triggered nuclear disaster in March, Tokyo Electric Power canceled plans to build seventh and eighth reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The plans to build 14 reactors have also come under review since Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda expressed a desire to reduce the country's dependence on nuclear power.
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