Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on Wednesday restarted a reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, despite local opposition. This marks the first TEPCO-operated reactor to come back online since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Azernews reports, citing foreign media.

Reactor No. 6 at the seven-unit complex, located about 220 kilometers northwest of Tokyo, began its nuclear reaction shortly after 7 p.m. local time. TEPCO said it received approval from the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority earlier in the day to conduct trial operations.

The utility had initially planned to restart the reactor on Tuesday but postponed after an alarm malfunction occurred during a test operation.

Despite surveys showing residents were divided over the restart, Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi approved the plant’s return to operation last November, with the prefectural assembly following suit a month later.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world’s largest nuclear power station, is capable of producing 8.2 gigawatts of electricity at full capacity. It was among 54 reactors shut down in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima disaster, when core meltdowns occurred at TEPCO’s tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Experts note that the restart highlights Japan’s ongoing energy challenges, as the country seeks to balance its climate goals with energy security, while also navigating public concern over nuclear safety. The move could also signal a broader shift in Japan’s energy policy, potentially paving the way for other reactors to resume operations after years of regulatory scrutiny.