Japan is edging closer to approving the restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant – the first time it would be operated since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Hideyo Hanazumi, governor of the Niigata region where the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant is located, said he has given the green light for the partial restart.
The plan to resume operations at the facility, operated by utility company Tepco, still needs approval from the prefecture’s government assembly and Japan’s nuclear regulator before it can proceed.
If approved, it would be the first time Tepco would be allowed to recommence nuclear reactor operations in Japan since its Fukushima plant went into meltdown following a tsunami.
Residents in Niigata are divided over whether the plant should be restarted or not.
Hanazumi told a news conference on Friday that his decision would be discussed in December at a prefectural government assembly, where he would seek the assembly’s approval.
The approval would be for the recommencement of operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant’s No 6 reactor, followed by the No 7.
The resumption of operations at the facility is part of Tepco’s business reconstruction plan following the Fukushima meltdown, which was caused by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami.
When the plant’s reactors were flooded by the tsunami, it caused radiation to leak out and forced 150,000 people to be evacuated from the area.
Japan ordered all its nuclear power plant reactors to be shut down in 2011 following the disaster. Since then, 14 reactors have resumed operations.
Tepco was ordered to pay trillions of Japanese yen in damages to those affected and is also paying for the plant’s decommissioning costs.
A survey released by Niigata prefecture last month suggested 50% of its residents supported the plant’s restart, while 47% were against it. It also indicated that almost 70% of people in the prefecture were concerned about Tepco running the plant.
Friday’s decision demonstrates a desire among some in Japan to move towards increased use of atomic energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, as the country pursues a goal of net zero carbon emissions.
