Japan restarts operation of world’s largest nuclear power plant

A fault in the monitoring system, discovered in January, thwarted the first attempt to restart the plant since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture has resumed operation, Tokyo Electric Power Company said.

The plant was shut down after Japan effectively abandoned nuclear power following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that led to the meltdown of three reactors at Fukushima. Now the country is returning to nuclear energy in an effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet growing demand for electricity, including that associated with the development of artificial intelligence technologies.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who won a landslide election victory on Sunday, is a strong supporter of nuclear energy as a driver of economic growth. TEPCO initially planned to start up one of the plant’s seven reactors on January 21, but work was stopped the very next day after the monitoring system alarm went off.

At a press conference, TEPCO representatives explained that the alarm responded to slight fluctuations in current in one of the cables, although the readings remained within acceptable limits. The company emphasized that they changed the settings of the warning system because the reactor was found safe for further operation. According to TEPCO, they plan to begin commercial operation no earlier than March 18, after another comprehensive inspection.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is considered the world’s largest nuclear power plant in terms of installed capacity, but of its seven reactors, only one has so far been returned to operation. After the Fukushima shutdown, 14 reactors, mainly in the western and southern parts of the country, were brought back into operation under strict new safety standards; by mid-January, 13 of them were operational. This power unit was the first TEPCO facility to resume operation since 2011. The same company manages the emergency Fukushima Daiichi, which is currently being decommissioned.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex underwent a large-scale modernization: a 15-meter tsunami protective wall was built here, emergency power supply systems were raised to a height and a number of other safety measures were introduced. However, public opinion in the region remains divided. According to a September poll in Niigata Prefecture, about 60% of residents oppose restarting the plant, while 37% support it. Local residents have expressed alarm over potential serious incidents, pointing to past cover-ups, minor accidents and what they describe as poor evacuation plans.