Japan is set to restart the world’s largest nuclear power plant as it turns back to the energy source a decade and a half after the Fukushima disaster prompted a nationwide shutdown of reactors.
– Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said on Wednesday that it was “proceeding with preparations” and aimed to restart operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata province at 7pm (10:00 GMT).
– The nation’s trust in its nuclear energy infrastructure was destroyed by the 2011 triple meltdown at Fukushima, which was run by TEPCO, following a colossal earthquake and tsunami.
– Just one reactor of the seven at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa will be restarted on Wednesday.
– When fully operational, the plant will generate 8.2 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power millions of households.
– The plant is spread over 4.2sq km (1.6sq miles) of land in Niigata, on the coast of the Japan Sea.
– Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the 15th plant to be restarted out of 33 that remain operable.
– Japan shut down all its 54 reactors in the wake of the 2011 disaster.
– Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is pushing for the construction of new reactors.
– The government recently announced a new state funding scheme to accelerate its nuclear power comeback.
– The restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which has been fitted with a 15-metre-high (50-foot) tsunami wall and other safety upgrades, was delayed by a day as TEPCO investigated an alarm malfunction that it says has since been addressed.
– Earlier this month, groups opposing the restart submitted a petition to TEPCO and Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, signed by nearly 40,000 people.
– The document noted that the plant sits on an active seismic fault zone and that it was struck by a strong earthquake in 2007.
– TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa told the Asahi daily that safety was “an ongoing process, which means operators involved in nuclear power must never be arrogant or overconfident”.
– The revival of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant comes as Japan’s nuclear industry faces a string of recent scandals and incidents, including data falsification by Chubu Electric Power to underestimate seismic risks.