A prominent volcanologist says predicting eruptions is impossible, disputing Japanese nuclear regulators' safety approval of two reactors based on the prediction that an eruption won't happen in the next few decades.
Toshitsugu Fujii, head of a government-commissioned panel on volcanic eruption prediction, said today a cauldron eruption at one of several volcanos surrounding the reactors at the Sendai plant in southern Japan not only could hit them but also cause a nationwide disaster.
Japanese regulators last month said the Sendai reactors fulfilled tougher safety requirements set after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The authority ruled out a major eruption over the next 30 years until the reactors' retirement.
A surprise eruption of a volcano in central Japan on Sept 27 has renewed concerns about the volcanos in the region.
