Japan has restarted operations at the world’s largest nuclear power plant for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster forced the country to shut all of its reactors.
The decision to restart reactor number six at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa north-west of Tokyo was taken despite local residents’ safety concerns.
It was delayed by a day because of an alarm malfunction and is due to begin operating commercially next month.
Heavily reliant on energy imports, Japan was an early adopter of nuclear power. But in 2011, all 54 of Japan’s reactors had to be shut after the most powerful earthquake it had ever recorded triggered a meltdown at Fukushima, causing one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
This is the latest installment in Japan’s nuclear power reboot, which still has a long way to go.
The seventh reactor at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is not expected to be brought back on until 2030, and the other five could be decommissioned. That leaves the plant with far less capacity than it once had when all seven reactors were operational: 8.2 gigawatts.
The meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, 220km (135 miles) north-east of Tokyo on the coast, led to radioactive leakage. Local communities were evacuated, and many have not returned despite official assurances that it was safe to do so.
Critics say the plant’s owner Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, was not prepared, and the response from them and government was not well co-ordinated. An independent government report called it a “man-made disaster” and blamed Tepco, although a court later cleared three of their executives of negligence.
Still the fear and lack of trust fuelled public opposition to nuclear power and Japan suspended all of its reactors.
BBC
Follow Ghanaian Times WhatsApp Channel today. https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
🌍 Trusted News. Real Stories. Anytime, Anywhere.
✅ Join our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
