(Adnkronos) – The Niigata Prefectural Assembly in Japan has approved plans for the restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant, for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which led to the closure of all Japanese reactors. Last month, Niigata Prefecture Governor Hideyo Hanazumi had announced that he would “approve” the resumption of operations at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, in the country’s central-western region.
The plant had been put “on hold” following the Fukushima disaster, the earthquake, followed by the tsunami and a nuclear catastrophe in 2011. In total, 14 reactors had already been restarted after the implementation of strict safety standards. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which spans 400 hectares on the Sea of Japan coast facing the Korean peninsula, would be the first nuclear power plant restarted by Tepco, which also operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, since 2011. The operator plans to restart one of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’s seven reactors around January 20, according to public broadcaster NHK and business daily Nikkei.
In 2023, almost 70% of Japan’s electricity needs were met by coal and oil-fired power plants. The country has set a goal to reduce the contribution of thermal power plants to 30-40% by 2040.
