Tag: Japan

Japan is set to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant next week, marking the first time a Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)-operated reactor will return to service since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The restart follows a brief shutdown caused by a technical issue during an earlier attempt. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, plant chief Takeyuki Inagaki confirmed that the reactor is scheduled to be powered up on February 9. The facility was initially restarted on January 21, but operations were halted the next day after an alarm was triggered in the monitoring system. Inagaki explained that the alert was due to incorrect settings, which caused the system to react to harmless fluctuations in electrical current. According to him, the problem has now been corrected, and the reactor is safe to operate. Commercial electricity generation is expected to begin on or after March 18, subject to the completion of another safety inspection. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, regarded as the largest nuclear power station in the world by capacity, has remained dormant for over a decade following Japan’s nationwide nuclear shutdown after the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami. Only one of the plant’s seven reactors is included in the current restart plan. The move aligns with Japan’s renewed push toward nuclear energy as part of efforts to cut fossil fuel use, meet growing electricity demands — including those driven by artificial intelligence technologies — and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. However, the decision remains controversial at the local level. A survey conducted by Niigata prefecture in September showed that around 60 percent of residents oppose the restart, while 37 percent support it. Critics point to seismic risks, noting the plant’s location near an active fault line and its history of being impacted by a major earthquake in 2007. In January, opponents submitted a petition containing nearly 40,000 signatures urging authorities to halt the restart.