Japan on Wednesday restarted the world’s largest nuclear power plant for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, despite ongoing safety concerns among local residents. Tokyo Electric Power Company
(TEPCO) confirmed that one reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture was restarted at 19:02 local time (10:02 GMT).
The resumption follows approval from the regional governor last month, although public opinion remains sharply divided. A survey conducted in September found that around 60 percent of residents oppose the restart, while 37 percent support it.
On Tuesday, a small group of protesters, mostly elderly, demonstrated in freezing temperatures near the plant, citing fears for their safety. “It’s Tokyo’s electricity that is produced in Kashiwazaki, so why should the people here be put at risk? That makes no sense,” said 73-year-old Yumiko Abe.
TEPCO said it would carefully verify the integrity of each facility and address any issues transparently. The vast Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex has undergone safety upgrades since the Fukushima disaster, including a 15-metre-high tsunami wall and elevated emergency power systems.
However, residents remain anxious about a serious accident, pointing to past cover-up scandals, minor incidents, and what they say are inadequate evacuation plans.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the first TEPCO-run plant to resume operations since 2011. Only one of its seven reactors has been restarted so far. Fourteen reactors across Japan, mainly in the west and south, have resumed operation under strict safety regulations, with 13 currently running.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has expressed support for nuclear energy, which Tokyo hopes will reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, lower carbon emissions, and meet growing energy demands.
Before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima meltdown, nuclear power supplied about a third of Japan’s electricity. The government now aims for nuclear energy to provide around 20 percent of Japan’s power by 2040, up from 8.5 percent in 2023-24, as the country also expands renewable sources.
(With inputs from AFP)
