TEPCO Restarts Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No. 6 Reactor

Tokyo, Jan. 21 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. reactivated the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, on Wednesday. The No. 6 unit was brought back online after a hiatus of 13 years and 10 months, becoming the first TEPCO reactor reactivated since the March 2011 triple meltdown at the company’s tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan. The Niigata prefectural government agreed to the plant’s restart on the condition that the central government further improves safety, amid the country’s shift in energy policy to making maximum use of nuclear power for electricity generation. Surveys, however, have shown prefectural residents split in their views on the restart. Allaying concerns about nuclear plants is a key challenge, especially after fraud involving earthquake risk data at Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, came to light earlier this month. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]