Last operating reactor in Japan shutdown

For the first time in 14 months, not a single nuclear reactor is operating in Japan. For anti-nuclear activists, it is the development they have been clamoring for.

But those who work in the nuclear industry are far from happy. And then there are entrepreneurs of renewable energy sources who have their own take on the situation.

The last time no nuclear reactors were operating was between May 5 and July 1, 2012.

The No. 4 reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture was taken offline Sept. 15 for routine inspections. Until then, it was the only reactor that was up and running.

Jun Yokoyama braved heavy rains from a typhoon to distribute anti-nuclear fliers in the Nakanoshima district of Osaka on the day the reactor was switched off.

"Power demand was met this summer with only two nuclear reactors (at the Oi plant) online," the 29-year-old Kobe University graduate student said. "There is no need for 50 reactors across Japan." The Ashahi Shimbun