This post was originally published on this site
Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc.
9501,
shares rose sharply Friday morning on growing hopes for government-led nuclear-reactor restarts.
The company’s shares were recently 8.8% higher at 496 yen ($3.81) after rising as much as 10% earlier.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Monday that it had made a shareholder proposal, requesting Tokyo Electric to restart nuclear reactors, citing a potential power shortage later this year.
Japanese markets were closed Tuesday through Thursday for public holidays. The metropolitan government owns a 1.2% stake in the power company.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a speech delivered in London on Thursday that the government plans to use nuclear power to contribute to the worldwide reduction of dependence on Russian energy, according to media reports.
Kishida said in April that the government plans to maximize the use of nuclear power to secure stable power supply, leading to a surge of power company stocks then.
Other utility stocks were also higher Friday. Kansai Electric Power Co. shares
9503,
were up 3.2% and Chugoku Electric Power Co. shares
9504,
were 3.8% higher.
Restarts of existing nuclear reactors have been a contentious issue in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011.
