Tepco to restart reactor at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, world’s biggest nuclear plant

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) is preparing to restart one reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata prefecture, possibly as soon as Tuesday, weeks before the 15th anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. The seven-reactor site is the world’s biggest nuclear power plant and can generate 8.2 gigawatts when all units operate.

Occupying 4.2 sq km on the Japan Sea coast, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa has been idle since 2012 after the 2011 triple meltdown at Fukushima. The plant is run by Tepco, which also operated Fukushima; restarting reactor No 6 could boost electricity supply to the Tokyo area by about 2%. Many local residents and officials oppose the restart.

About 420,000 people live within 30km of the plant; Ryusuke Yoshida, who lives less than a mile and a half from the plant, said "Everything" worries him and added "The evacuation plans are obviously ineffective." Tepco says it has learned lessons from Fukushima, pledged 100bn yen to Niigata over 10 years and installed seawalls, watertight doors, mobile diesel generators, a fleet of fire engines and upgraded filtering systems.

"The core of the nuclear power business is ensuring safety above all else, and the understanding of local residents is a prerequisite," said Tepco spokesperson Tatsuya Matoba.

Key Topics

World, Kashiwazaki-kariwa, Niigata Prefecture, Tokyo Electric Power, Fukushima Daiichi, Ryusuke Yoshida