Japan steps towards nuclear restart Japan's paralysed nuclear industry took a step toward resuming operations at dozens of idled power plants on Friday after a crucial endorsement from the prime minister and top cabinet officials. More than a year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Yoshihiko Noda and senior cabinet ministers said units at two reactors in western Japan should be turned back on, after they had passed computerised "stress tests." "It is our duty to ensure a stable power supply," said Yukio Edano, industry minister. IN Japan Japan had 54 nuclear reactors in service before Fukushima Daiichi was wrecked by a tsunami last March, but today only one is producing power. That unit is scheduled to be closed for a safety inspection on May 5, potentially leaving Japan without a working atomic plant for the first time in four decades and depriving it of what had been the source of up to 30 per cent of its electricity. The mass shutdown, which is largely a result of local safety concerns, has raised the prospect of power shortages in the coming months as residents and businesses switch on air conditioners in the hot, humid summer. Mr Noda and his centre-left government have been criticised for their indecisive handling of the issue, which has been building for months as plants power down for rolling safety checks. "[That] we don't know whether there will be enough electricity or not is something that should not happen in a developed country," Tadashi Yanai, president of Fast Retailing, which operates the Uniqlo clothing chain, said this week. After Fukushima, Mr Noda and other national leaders pledged to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power, although the extent of the retreat and its time frame have not been made clear. In the short term, Mr Noda has spoken of the need to keep at least some plants on to avoid electricity shortages, yet he had stopped short of making a direct appeal to restart idled facilities. He must still convince local politicians in jurisdictions where reactors are located to sign off on any restarts, but the official, cabinet-level endorsement on Friday should make it easier to do so. Although some local leaders have turned vocally against nuclear power since Fukushima, many others have said they lacked the technical expertise to evaluate the safety of their plants, and were in effect waiting for guidance from Tokyo. Electric utilities are obliged to consult municipal governments before turning plants back on at the end of regular safety inspections - in effect giving local leaders the power to decide a reactor's future each time it shuts down for checks, something which occurs every 13 months. Shinobu Tokioka, mayor of Oi, the town that hosts the two reactors addressed by Mr Noda and his ministers on Friday, said he wanted government officials "to come and make an explanation to residents as soon as possible." Mr Edano said he would travel to the area on Saturday. One stumbling block is growing opposition to restarting plants from leaders of towns and prefectures near but not directly next to nuclear facilities. They receive fewer benefits, such as subsides, but, as the Fukushima disaster showed, they share many of the risks. Some, including the staunchly anti-nuclear mayor of Osaka, have demanded the same effective veto as reactor-hosting districts and have threatened to make the demand an issue in the next national elections.