A nuclear reactor at a plant in western Japan was to be suspended Wednesday due to water leaks from a pressurizer valve, local media reported. According to dpa, Kansai Electric Power Co said it was manually shutting reactor 2 at Mihama Nuclear Power Plant, located on the Sea of Japan coast, some 300 kilometres west of Tokyo. The reactor was originally scheduled to be halted on December 18 for a regular checkup. The operator said it was seeking to identify the cause of the malfunction at the plant, Kyodo News reported. Following the shutdown, a total of nine of its 11 reactors in the region will have been suspended.
