Japan approves J-Power MOX-fuel reactor construction

TOKYO, April 23 (Reuters) - Electric Power Development Co (9513.T), or J-Power, said on Wednesday it had received government approval to construct a 1,383 megawatt nuclear reactor, the company's first, which will use mixed oxide (MOX) fuel.

The Tokyo-based electricity wholesaler said it planned to begin construction work at Ohma in Aomori prefecture, northern Japan, from May.

A company spokesman said the plant was due to be completed in March 2012.

The use of MOX fuel, a blend of uranium and plutonium recycled from spent nuclear fuel, in conventional commercial reactors is a pillar of resource-poor Japan's energy policy.

However, Japan does not yet have any commercial reactors that operate using the controversial fuel, which critics say could be used to build nuclear weapons.

On Friday, Japanese utility Hokkaido Electric Power Co (9509.T) said it had applied for permission to use MOX fuel at one of its nuclear plants.

Japan's power industry has said it would like to have 16-18 plants using the reprocessed fuel by the business year ending March 2011, but it is unclear if it will be able to achieve this goal.

J-Power, privatised in 2004, has been fending off a push by British activist fund TCI for higher shareholder returns. [ID:nT238677] (Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Chris Gallagher)