Japan set to restart world’s biggest nuclear power plant

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa volition beryllium the latest works to restart 15 years aft the Fukushima catastrophe unopen down the country’s atomic vigor programme.

Japan is acceptable to resume operations astatine the world’s largest atomic powerfulness plant: Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.

The partial restart of the works got the greenish airy successful a ballot connected Monday by the Niigata section government. Japan has reopened respective atomic facilities arsenic it seeks to trim emissions, reversing argumentation 15 years aft 54 reactors were unopen successful the aftermath of the Fukushima catastrophe contempt nationalist opposition.

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Niigata prefecture’s assembly passed a ballot of assurance connected Governor Hideyo Hanazumi, who backed the restart past month, efficaciously allowing the works to statesman operations again.

The 2011 triple meltdown astatine Fukushima, pursuing an earthquake and tsunami, destroyed Japan’s spot successful its atomic vigor infrastructure.

However, the biology and economical costs of relying connected imported fossil fuels person led Japan’s caller Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to backmost reopening immoderate of the shuttered plants.

Fourteen of the 33 atomic plants that stay operable successful the state person been resurrected. However, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the archetypal to beryllium operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which ran the Fukushima plant.

TEPCO is considering reactivating the archetypal of 7 reactors astatine the works connected January 20, Japanese nationalist broadcaster NHK reported.

The archetypal reactor unsocial could boost energy proviso to the Tokyo country by 2 percent, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has estimated.

A pistillate holds a banner that reads ‘Against Restart’ arsenic Niigata prefectural assembly lawmakers hole to ballot connected reopening the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, December 22, 2025 [Issei Kato/Reuters]

While lawmakers voted successful enactment of Hanazumi, the assembly league showed that the assemblage remains divided implicit the restart, contempt the committedness of caller jobs and perchance little energy bills.

About 300 protesters rallied to reason the vote, holding banners speechmaking “No Nukes”, “We reason the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa” and “Support Fukushima”.

Farmer and antinuclear activistic Ayako Oga, 52, joined the protests connected Monday successful her caller location of Niigata, wherever she settled aft fleeing the country astir the Fukushima works successful 2011 with 160,000 different evacuees. Her aged location was wrong the 20km (12-mile) radius irradiated exclusion zone.

“We cognize firsthand the hazard of a atomic mishap and cannot disregard it,” said Oga, adding that she inactive struggles with post-traumatic accent disorder-like symptoms.

Takaichi, who took bureau 2 months ago, has backed atomic restarts to fortify vigor information and trim reliance connected imported fossil fuels, which besides lend to clime change.

Japan spent 10.7 trillion yen ($68bn) past twelvemonth connected imported liquefied earthy state and coal, one-10th of its full import costs.