Japan Set to Restart World’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant

Japan is preparing to approve the restart of the world’s largest nuclear power station, marking a pivotal step in the country’s gradual return to nuclear energy more than a decade after the Fukushima disaster.

Authorities in Niigata Prefecture are expected on Monday to endorse the resumption of operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, located about 220 kilometres northwest of Tokyo. The decision would represent a major milestone in Japan’s energy policy shift as it seeks to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility was among 54 nuclear reactors shut down nationwide after a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011 crippled the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, triggering the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Since then, Japan has cautiously restarted 14 of the 33 reactors that remain technically operable, amid heightened safety standards and public scrutiny. The Niigata plant would be the first nuclear facility to be brought back online by Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima plant.

According to NHK, the utility is considering restarting the first of the station’s seven reactors as early as 20 January, subject to final regulatory and local approvals.

Supporters argue that restarting the plant will strengthen Japan’s energy security, curb carbon emissions and stabilize electricity supplies, particularly as energy prices remain volatile. Critics, however, continue to raise concerns about safety, disaster preparedness and public trust.

The anticipated approval underscores Japan’s balancing act between economic and environmental pressures and lingering public unease over nuclear power, as the country charts its long-term energy strategy for the coming decades.