Japan to restart World’s biggest nuclear plant

Japan is set to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant next week, following a brief operational suspension caused by an alarm malfunction during its initial restart attempt. This marks the first restart of a Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO)-operated reactor since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

At a press conference on Friday, plant chief Takeyuki Inagaki announced the planned reactor start-up for February 9. The facility had been restarted on January 21 but was shut down the following day after a monitoring system alarm was triggered. Inagaki explained that the alarm had been incorrectly configured, causing it to sound in response to minor, safe fluctuations in an electrical cable’s current.

The issue has since been resolved. “The firm has now changed the alarm’s settings as the reactor is safe to operate,” Inagaki stated. He added that commercial operation is scheduled to begin on or after March 18, pending another comprehensive inspection.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world’s largest by potential capacity, has been offline since Japan halted nuclear power generation following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The current restart involves only one of the facility’s seven reactors.

The move is part of Japan’s broader strategy to revive nuclear energy to reduce fossil fuel dependence, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and meet rising energy demands, including from artificial intelligence development. The restart remains contentious locally, with a September survey by Niigata prefecture showing approximately 60 percent of residents oppose it, while 37 percent support it. Opponents have cited seismic risks, submitting a petition with nearly 40,000 signatures in January that highlighted the plant’s location on an active fault zone and its history of being struck by a strong earthquake in 2007.