日本關閉第四大核電站

A power company in central Japan says it is suspending operations at the country's fourth largest nuclear power station until it makes safety improvements.

日本中部地區的一家電力公司說，將暫時關閉日本第四大核電站，直到安全性能得到進一步的改善。

Monday’s announcement comes after Japan's Prime Minister asked the plant to halt operations because of concerns over the facility’s vulnerability to earthquakes and tsunami.

星期一公佈這條消息之前，日本首相已經要求該電站停止運行，因爲擔心該電站無法承受地震和海嘯的衝擊。

The Hamaoka plant of Chubu Electric Power sits on the Pacific coast in an area that seismologists say is long-overdue for a massive earthquake. By one government estimate, there is an 87 percent chance that a quake of magnitude eight or higher will strike in the next 30 years.

日本中部電力公司下屬的濱岡核電站座落在太平洋沿岸，地震學家早就預測，這一地區會發生大地震。日本政府的一項預測顯示，該地區在今後30年內發生8級或8級以上大地震的可能性高達87%。

The worry is that a huge quake could knock external power supplies offline and cause a tsunami that would inundate the plant, which is the same thing that happened at the Fukushima Daiichi power station.

人們擔心，大地震可能會切斷外部供電，地震引發的海嘯會淹沒這座核電站，就像福島核電站那樣。

The government has requested Hamaoka suspend operations until safety improvements can be made.

日本政府要求暫時關閉濱岡核電站，直到安全措施得到改善。

Chubu Electric President Akihisa Mizuno announced the decision at a news conference.

日本中部電力公司總裁在新聞發佈會上宣佈了這一消息。

Mizuno says the company has decided to stop reactors 4 and 5 and postpone plans to restart reactor 3, which is currently stopped for maintenance.

他說，公司決定暫時關閉濱岡核電站4號和5號反應堆，並且推遲重新啓動3號反應堆的計劃。目前3號反應堆正在進行檢修。On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked the company to stop Hamaoka, but he did not have legal authority to do so. Chubu Electric's board met Saturday and resisted the prime minister’s call.

上星期五，日本首相菅直人要求日本中部電力公司停止濱岡核電站的運行，但是菅直人沒有下令停止運行的權力。日本中部電力公司董事會星期六召開會議，拒絕了首相的建議。

The Japanese government has said it will work with the privately-run company to cover the extra expense of halting the plant’s operations.

日本政府曾經表示，願意和這傢俬營公司合作，並支付停止核電站的費用。

The suspension could limit the electricity supply in central Japan. Hamaoka supplies one-tenth of the power used in the region, which is home to numerous factories including the headquarters of Toyota, the world's biggest car maker.

濱岡核電站暫停使用會減少日本中部地區的供電量。濱岡核電站提供該地區十分之一的電力，該地區有很多大企業，世界最大的汽車製造商豐田汽車公司的總部就設在這裏。

Companies are already voluntarily reducing power use. There are worries that a hot summer could bring mandatory power cuts and disrupt factories.

該地區的企業已經自動減少了用電量，但是人們擔心，炎熱的夏天可能迫使廠家減少用電，甚至影響到生產。

Chubu Electric can restart older coal and gas-fired plants that had been taken out of service, but that will only make up about half the shortfall of the Hamaoka plant.

日本中部電力公司可以重新啓動已經廢棄了的燃煤和天然氣發電站，但也只能彌補濱岡核電站停產造成短缺的一半。

The decision is a victory for anti-nuclear groups that have long labeled Hamaoka as the country's most dangerous nuclear power plant.

暫時關閉濱岡核電站是反核組織的勝利，因爲他們早就把濱岡核電站列爲日本最危險的核電站。

Calls for its closure have been made at rallies in Japanese cities almost every week since the nuclear emergency began unfolding in Fukushima.

自從福島核危機以來，日本各城市幾乎每個星期都舉行要求關閉濱岡核電站的示威。