Japan set to restart world’s biggest nuclear power plant

The largest nuclear power plant in the world, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, is scheduled to reopen operations in Japan.

The Niigata local government approved the plant’s partial restart on Monday. In response to the public’s opposition, Japan has restarted a number of nuclear facilities as part of its efforts to cut emissions. In response, it has gone back to its original policy 15 years after 54 reactors were shut down in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

Governor Hideyo Hanazumi, who supported the restart last month, was granted a vote of confidence by the assembly of Niigata prefecture, which would have allowed the plant to resume operations.

Japan’s confidence in its nuclear energy infrastructure was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami that followed the triple meltdown in Fukushima in 2011.

However, Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s new prime minister, is supportive of reopening some of the shuttered plants because of the high environmental and economic costs associated with relying on imported fossil fuels.

There are currently 33 nuclear plants in operation in the nation, and 14 have been revived. The Fukushima plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), is the first to run Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.

According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, TEPCO may reactivate the first of its seven reactors at the plant on January 20.

According to estimates from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the first reactor alone could increase Tokyo’s electricity supply by 2 percent.

Despite the promise of new jobs and lower electricity bills, the assembly session revealed that the community is still divided over the restart despite the support of legislators.

No Nukes, “We oppose the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa,” and “Support Fukushima,” were the banners that 300 protesters held as they gathered to protest the election.

Ayako Oga, a 52-year-old farmer and anti-nuclear activist, flew to her new home in Niigata, where she settled after escaping the city’s Fukushima plant in 2011 along with 160, 000 other evacuees. Within the irradiated exclusion zone, her old home was located 20 kilometers (12 miles) away.

Oga continued, adding that she still struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder-like symptoms, noting that “we know firsthand the risk of a nuclear accident and cannot dismiss it.

To improve energy security and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, which also contribute to climate change, Takaichi, who took office two months ago, has backed nuclear restarts.