Japan free of nuclear power

Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance.

After last year’s March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant,no reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.

“Today is a historical day,’’ Masashi Ishikawa shouted to a crowd gathered at a Tokyo park,some holding traditional “koinobori’’ carp-shaped banners for Children’s Day that have become a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement. “There are so many nuclear plants,but not a single one will be up and running today,and that’s because of our efforts,’’ Ishikawa said.

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The activists said it is fitting that the day Japan is stopping nuclear power coincides with Children’s Day because of their concerns about protecting children from radiation,which Fukushima Daiichi is still spewing into the air and water. The government has been eager to restart nuclear reactors,warning about blackouts and rising carbon emissions as Japan is forced to turn to oil and gas for energy. Japan now requires reactors to pass new tests to withstand quakes and tsunami and to gain local residents’ approval before restarting.

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. spokesman Hisatoshi Kibayashi said the shutdown was completed late Saturday. The Hokkaido Tomari plant has three reactors,but the other two had been halted earlier. Before March 11 last year,the nation had 54 nuclear reactors,but four of the six reactors at Fukushima Dai-ichi are being decommissioned.