TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted last week for the first time in more than 13 years after it had survived a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant was shut down again Monday due to an equipment problem, its operator said.
The No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear power plant on Japan’s northern coast was put back online on Oct. 29 and had been expected to start generating power in early November.
But it had to be shut down again five days after its restart due to a glitch that occurred Sunday in a device related to neutron data inside the reactor, plant operator Tohoku Electric Power Co. said.
The reactor was operating normally and there was no release of radiation into the environment, Tohoku Electric said. The utility said it decided to shut it down to re-examine equipment to address residents' safety concerns. No new date for a restart was given.
The reactor is one of three at the Onagawa plant, which is 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the Fukushima Daiichi plant where three reactors melted following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, releasing large amounts of radiation.
The Onagawa plant was hit by a 13-meter (42-foot) tsunami triggered by the quake but was able to keep its crucial cooling systems functioning in all three reactors and achieve their safe shutdowns.
All of Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear power plants were shut down after the Fukushima disaster for safety checks and upgrades. Onagawa No. 2 was the 13th of the 33 still useable reactors to restart.
Japan's government last year adopted a plan to maximize use of nuclear energy and is pushing to accelerate reactor restarts to secure a stable energy supply and meet its pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Concern about the government’s revived push for nuclear energy grew after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit Japan’s Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024. killing more than 400 people and damaging more than 100,000 structures. It caused minor damage to two nearby nuclear facilities, and evacuation plans for the region were found to be inadequate.
This photo shows the Onagawa nuclear power plant, operated by Tohoku Electric Power Company, Inc., in Onagawa, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Juntaro Yokoyama/Kyodo News via AP)
COOPERSTOWN, N,Y. (AP) — Dick Allen, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant are among eight men on the ballot for the baseball Hall of Fame’s classic era committee that meets Dec. 8 at the winter meetings in Dallas.
Tommy John, Steve Garvey and Ken Boyer are also on the ballot along with former Negro Leaguers John Donaldson and Vic Harris, the Hall said Monday. The classic era committee considers players, managers, umpires and executives whose greatest contributions to the sport were before 1980.
The identities of the 16 voters will be announced closer to the meeting, and 75% of the vote is needed for election. Anyone chosen will be inducted into the Hall next July 27 along with players voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 21.
Parker, John and Garvey are the living candidates. Tiant died on Oct. 8 at age 83.
Allen hit .292 with 351 homers and 1,119 RBIs from 1963-77. A seven-time All-Star, he was voted the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1972 AL MVP.
Parker, 73, hit .290 with 339 homers and 1,493 RBIs from 1973-91. He was the 1978 NL MVP, won the 1977 and ’78 NL batting titles and was a seven-time All-Star.
Tiant was a four-time 20-game winner who went 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA from 1964-82. He was a three-time All-Star who won two AL ERA titles.
John, 81, was 288-231 with a 3.34 ERA over 26 seasons from 1963-89, becoming a four-time All-Star. He was a pioneer patient in elbow ligament-replacement surgery in 1974 by Dr. Frank Jobe, which became known as Tommy John surgery.
Garvey, 75, hit .294 with 272 homers, 1,308 RBIs from 1969-87, was the 1974 NL MVP and helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1981 title. He played an NL record 1,207 consecutive games at first base.
Boyer was an 11-time All-Star who batted .287 with 282 homers and 1,141 RBIs from 1955-69. He was the 1964 NL MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series champions.
Donaldson pitched in the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues for more than 30 years.
Harris played 18 seasons in the Negro Leagues, mostly as a Homestead Grays outfielder, and managed the team for 11 seasons, winning seven Negro National League pennants and the 1948 World Series.
The Hall in 2022 restructured its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years, setting up panels to consider the contemporary era from 1980 on as well as the classic era. The contemporary baseball era holds separate ballots for players and another for managers, executives and umpires.
Each committee meets every three years, starting with contemporary players in December 2022, when Fred McGriff was elected, and followed by contemporary managers, executives and umpires last December, when Jim Leyland was voted in. Contemporary players will be considered again in December 2025.
The ballot was picked by a historical overview committee that included Adrian Burgos of the University of Illinois, Bob Elliott of the Canadian Baseball Network, Steve Hirdt of Stats Perform, David O’Brien of The Athletic, BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and Mark Whicker of the Southern California News Group along with Jim Henneman (formerly of The Sun in Baltimore), Jim Reeves (formerly of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle).
Allen received 11 votes from the 2014 golden era committee, falling one short of the 75% needed for election. Donaldson got eight votes from the 2021 early baseball era committee, which considered pre-1950 candidates.
Parker got seven votes from the 2019 modern era committee, which considered candidates from 1970-87, Garvey six and John three or fewer. Garvey, John, Parker and Tiant all received fewer than seven votes from the 2016 modern era committee.
Boyer and Pierce got fewer than three in 2014, and Garvey, John and Parker fewer than six from the 2013 expansion era committee. Boyer and Tiant received fewer than three from the 2011 golden era committee.
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Félix Hernández are among the players eligible for the BBWAA ballot for the first time in the upcoming vote. Holdovers include Billy Wagner, who was five votes shy last January.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - Member of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates World Championship team Dave Parker tips his hat at the fans during a pre-game ceremony honoring the team before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies in Pittsburgh, Saturday, July 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - Former Philadelphia Phillies player Dick Allen reacts after a ceremony unveiling his retired number prior to a baseball game between the Phillies and the Washington Nationals in Philadelphia, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)
