The METI minister’s visit to the Ikata NPPs was one item in the prefecture’s eight-item request concerning safety measures for the Ikata NPPs. On October 2, Governor Nakamura himself visited the site and personally confirmed the state of progress of additional measures for earthquakes and more, which the prefecture had independently requested of the power company in light of the special geographical and social conditions involved. The governor said that he also received a good evaluation of those safety measures from Minister Hayashi, who told him he, too, recognized “actual progress.”
Including replies to reporters at the end of the prefectural assembly’s regular September session on October 9, and after visiting the METI Minister Hayashi in Tokyo on October 15, the governor has repeatedly said that he will make a final decision on a restart of Ikata-3 taking three factors into account – national policy, the attitude of Shikoku Electric Power, and the understanding of the local community.
