According to JAEA spokesman, the company’s top executive told the local Fukui Prefecture that the restart is scheduled by the end of March 2010 at the latest.
In January 2009, JAEA had postponed the restart schedule indefinitely from the previous target of February 2009 to do repair work on holes discovered in the reactor’s auxiliary building and other safety checks.
The Monju plant is situated in Fukui prefecture, 400 km (250 miles) west of Tokyo.
The fast-breeder reactors have been beset by technical difficulties and many nations have abandoned the costly programmes.
The plant is a cornerstone of Japan’s nuclear fuel cycle programme, with the government spending more than JPY860 billion on it.
