Quote Originally Posted by Spellbinder View Post
It's a Japan thing, varying from company to company, but it's just something they have to do.

For those who understand JP, here's some supplementary info/examples:

法定停電とはなんでしょうか？
http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp...il/q1048444960

Company announcement of mandatory power outage (法定停電に伴うサービス一時停止のお知らせ)
http://current.ndl.go.jp/node/2348
This explains it all.. And just thinking of equipment that runs 24/7 with no inspections.... (in which the system has to be shut down) can cause serious hazards.. especially working with Nucelur powered Generators.. imagian it.. it getting no yearly inspection and then something happens that causes the Power plant to explode and cause major radiation leaks... Oh man.. That scares the hell out of me and I don't even live in Japan.

Also.. The Google translations for the page are pretty good.