Following massive citizen action throughout Japan, Chubu Electric announces Hamaoka nuclear plant shutdown

After widespread citizen protests throughout Japan, Chubu Electric Power Co. plans to stop all reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear plant in central Japan according to The Mainichi Daily News:

Chubu Electric Power Co. plans to stop all reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear plant in central Japan following Prime Minister Naoto Kan's request to do so for security reasons, company sources said Friday.

The decision was learned of shortly after Kan said at a hastily arranged news conference in the evening that all operations at the plant in Shizuoka Prefecture must be suspended due to concerns that a powerful earthquake could trigger yet another serious nuclear crisis.

"It's a decision made after thinking about people's safety," Kan said in announcing the request, referring to the science ministry's prediction of an 87 percent chance of a magnitude-8.0 quake hitting the Tokai region within the next 30 years.

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