Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has said he intends to reactivate some of the country's idled nuclear reactors as early as next spring, in a bid to avert a massive power shortage that could deal a potentially fatal blow to the economy.
Noda's comments, made during a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, are the first time the prime minister has disclosed a time frame for the reactors' controversial restart.
"If we don't begin to reactivate (the reactors) that we can from spring through next summer, there could be a power shortage that could bring down Japan's economy," Noda was quoted as saying.