Japan's electric power companies are continuing to allow the public to visit their nuclear facilities despite security concerns in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks on the United States, company officials said Saturday.
Officials from nine power companies from Hokkaido to Kyushu told Kyodo News that they still open their facilities to local residents and others who wish to visit as part of their efforts to promote the safety of nuclear power.
However, Japan Atomic Power Co. said it has halted tours of its nuclear power plants, including one in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.
A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co. dismissed concerns that terrorists could disguise themselves as visitors, saying, "It is natural for us to take all possible measures to ensure the safety (of facilities and visitors)."
The number of visitors to Tepco's three nuclear power plants in Fukushima and Niigata prefectures in October was the same as the previous month, the spokesman said.
A spokesman for Tohoku Electric Power Co. also said he does not believe the number of visitors to the firm's Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture has fallen due to the suicide airliner attacks on New York and Washington.
However, the power companies have apparently stepped up measures to ensure the safety of the nuclear facilities they operate, with Hokkaido Electric Power Co. conducting more stringent identity checks and Tohoku Electric Power inspecting visitors' baggage with metal detectors.
Chubu Electric Power Co. said it no longer allows visitors to enter the central control room of its nuclear power plant.
The Tepco spokesman said the company wants to continue to open its doors to visitors at its nuclear power plants as it has in the past.