Japan prepares to restart world's biggest nuclear plant, 15 years after Fukushima disaster

NIIGATA — Japan’s Niigata prefecture is expected to endorse a decision on Monday to restart the world’s largest nuclear power plant, marking a major turning point in the country’s gradual return to nuclear energy more than a decade after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, located about 220 kilometers (136 miles) northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut down after a massive earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Since then, Japan has restarted 14 of the 33 reactors that remain operable as it seeks to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa would be the first plant restarted by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima facility.

“We remain firmly committed to never repeating such an accident and to ensuring Niigata residents never experience anything similar,” TEPCO spokesperson Masakatsu Takata said.

If approved, TEPCO is considering restarting the first of the plant’s seven reactors on January 20, public broadcaster NHK reported. Takata declined to comment on the timing.

Reluctant residents wary of restart

Earlier this year, TEPCO pledged to invest 100 billion yen ($641 million) in Niigata over the next decade as part of efforts to gain local support for the restart.

However, skepticism remains widespread.

A prefectural survey published in October found that 60% of residents did not believe conditions for the restart had been adequately met, while nearly 70% expressed concerns about TEPCO operating the plant.

Ayako Oga, 52, moved to Niigata after fleeing the area around Fukushima in 2011 along with about 160,000 other evacuees. Her former home lay within the 20-kilometer irradiated exclusion zone.

Now a farmer and anti-nuclear activist, Oga has joined protests against what she views as a renewed threat close to home.

“We know firsthand the risks of a nuclear accident and cannot simply dismiss them,” Oga said, adding that she continues to suffer post-traumatic stress-like symptoms stemming from the Fukushima disaster.

Even Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi, who backed the restart last month, has said he hopes Japan will eventually reduce its reliance on nuclear power.

“I want to see an era where we don’t have to depend on energy sources that cause anxiety,” he said.

Strengthening energy security

On Monday, the prefectural assembly is expected to hold a vote of confidence in Hanazumi, widely seen as a de facto referendum on his support for restarting the plant.

The vote is regarded as the final hurdle before TEPCO proceeds with restarting the first reactor, which alone could boost electricity supply to the Tokyo metropolitan area by about 2%, according to estimates from Japan’s trade ministry.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office two months ago, has supported nuclear restarts to strengthen energy security and offset the high cost of fossil fuel imports, which currently account for 60% to 70% of Japan’s electricity generation.

Japan spent 10.7 trillion yen ($68 billion) last year on imported liquefied natural gas and coal—roughly a tenth of its total import bill.

Despite a declining population, Japan expects electricity demand to rise over the next decade due to the rapid expansion of energy-intensive artificial intelligence data centers.

To meet growing demand while honoring decarbonization goals, the government aims to double nuclear power’s share of the electricity mix to 20% by 2040.

Joshua Ngu, vice chairman for Asia Pacific at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said public acceptance of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart would represent “a critical milestone” toward achieving those targets.

In July, Kansai Electric Power, Japan’s largest nuclear operator, announced it would begin survey work for a reactor in western Japan—the first new nuclear unit proposed since the Fukushima disaster.

For Oga, who plans to join demonstrations outside the Niigata assembly as lawmakers cast their votes, the push to revive nuclear power is deeply unsettling.

“Every news update about the restart—it feels like reliving the fear all over again,” she said.

($1 = 155.9200 yen) -Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Issei Kato in Niigata and Yuka Obayashi and Katya Golubkova in Tokyo; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Kate Mayberry/Reuters