A minor fire broke out at a nuclear power plant construction site in northern Japan on Saturday but there was no danger of radiation leakage, an official said.
No one was hurt in the small fire at a half-built reactor at Tomari Nuclear Power Plant on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, which is scheduled to be tested early next year.
"A guard found white smoke coming out of textile sheets, which were just used in the process of welding," said Kazutoshi Michinaka, an official at the facility.
"We have to wait for an official announcement from the fire department, but we presume that the possibility of arson is very low," the official said.
Nuclear energy authorities have ordered Hokkaido Electric Power Co. Ltd., which owns the facility, to boost security against potential arson as at least seven cases of arson have been reported at the construction site this year.
In July, a massive earthquake hit central Japan, causing a fire at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant and triggering a leakage of radiation.
