Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• Alarm activations at Oi Nuclear Power Station

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the sounding of an alarm (notifying the failure of a carrier relay) at Oi Nuclear Power Station, which is currently making preparations to restart operations. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) announced that an alarm had sounded two hours and twenty-two minutes after it first went off. How do you evaluate the time it took from the time the alarm sounded until the announcement being made by NISA?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: To give you the facts of this matter, it was the case that at around 11:35 pm on Saturday, June 23, an alarm sounded, notifying that the radio waves that send and receive information concerning the status of the transmission lines that connect to the power station had been interrupted, and this alarm intermittently continued to sound. It would appear that the cause was inclement weather, causing an atmospheric disturbance, which temporarily interrupted the transmission of the radio waves. At no time was it confirmed that the power transmission facilities had broken down or been affected. With regard to whether the announcement of this matter was made in good time or too late, it was the case that various procedures at the power station were implemented to confirm the situation and acquire information to make an announcement, which do take some time to complete. However, I believe that it is necessary to ensure a prompt response in the future.

(Abridged)