I want to express my respect to both the power utility and the NRA for their efforts throughout the process leading to the permission being granted. I hope that Tohoku Electric will continue its efforts toward obtaining continued approval for its construction work plans (i.e., detailed design approval) and operational safety programs, and will proceed safely and steadily with its work on safety measures.

Toward restarting the reactor, it is essential to obtain understanding from local residents. I expect the utility to continue its dialogues diligently, building trust in the reliability of the NPP.

With the permission granted for Onagawa-2, sixteen reactors (BWRs and PWRs) have now cleared compatibility examinations with the NRA out of the twenty-seven for which applications have been filed. Those include the following four BWRs: Onagawa-2, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-6 and -7 NPPs, owned and operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), and the Tokai-2 NPP, owned and operated by the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC).

I hope that the safety examinations for the remaining plants will be carried out smoothly, based on the knowledge and information obtained so far.