Japan PM orders nuclear restart: reports

TOKYO: Japan ordered nuclear reactors back online Saturday, defying public sentiment against atomic power following the quake-tsunami that sparked last year's meltdowns at Fukushima, reports said.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, seeking to head off a summer energy crunch, told Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO) to re-fire two idled reactors at its Oi plant serving the industrial heartland of western Japan, the Jiji news agency and the Nikkei online news said. (AFP)