Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. has announced it will restart a reactor northwest of Tokyo on January 20, after obtaining crucial local consent, marking the utility’s first reactor reboot since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi met separately in Tokyo with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and industry minister Ryosei Akazawa to convey his approval for the restart of the Nos. 6 and 7 units at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear complex, News.Az reports, citing Kyodo news.
TEPCO is expected to apply to nuclear regulators on Wednesday for final equipment checks on the No. 6 reactor prior to its restart.
Despite approving the restart, Hanazumi told Takaichi at the Prime Minister’s Office that many local residents still harbor safety concerns.
Takaichi said she “deeply respects his decision” to approve the restart and vowed that her government will ensure that TEPCO continues work to enhance safety.
Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, most of the country’s nuclear reactors have remained offline. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party favors utilizing nuclear power generation.
Hanazumi made seven requests to Akazawa during their meeting, including thorough explanations on plant safety and the development of evacuation roads, and asked that progress on those items be shared. Akazawa responded that he would “give top priority to explaining the situation whenever requested.”
Hanazumi also met with Nuclear Regulation Authority Secretary General Shuichi Kaneko and called for further improvements in nuclear safety. He made similar requests to TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa in a written notice of his consent to the restart.
The seven reactors at the Niigata plant have been offline for checks since March 2012 and have been unable to restart amid public concern over the safety of nuclear power in Japan following the Fukushima disaster.
The Nos. 6 and 7 reactors cleared nuclear regulators’ safety checks in 2017 but were temporarily barred from operation due to inadequate counterterrorism measures.
In March 2024, then industry minister Ken Saito formally requested Hanazumi’s consent to restart the plant, and Hanazumi approved it last month.
The Niigata prefectural assembly on Monday approved a supplementary budget related to the restart and passed a vote of confidence in Hanazumi, effectively endorsing his decision.
News.Az
AloJapan.com