November 21, 2025, 11:00 a.mNovember 21, 2025, 11:00 a.m
The world’s largest nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, is one step closer to being restarted. He will approve the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi said at a press conference on Friday.
After the 2007 and 2011 nuclear disasters, the nuclear power plant was shut down.Image: www.imago-images.de
The approval of Japan’s nuclear regulatory authority is now required for commissioning.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, like all nuclear power plants in Japan, was taken offline after the Fukushima tsunami disaster in 2011. However, resource-poor Japan has been trying for several years to return to nuclear power to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel imports. So far, a total of 14 reactors, mostly in the west and south of the country, have been put back into operation under strict safety conditions.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant would be the first power plant owned by Fukushima operator Tepco to go back into operation since the disaster. The nuclear facility with an area of 400 hectares was equipped with a 15 meter high wall to protect against tsunamis.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant, located by the sea, was hit by an almost 15-meter-high tsunami shortly after a severe 9.0 magnitude seaquake on March 11, 2011. The power plant’s cooling system failed and a core meltdown occurred in three of the six reactors. It was the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. (sda/awp/afp)