Niigata Assembly Approves Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Restart

Japan's Niigata Prefectural Assembly voted on Monday to approve the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world's largest facility, nearly 15 years after the 2011 Fukushima disaster prompted the shutdown of the nation's atomic energy program. The decision clears the way for Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, to bring one of the plant's seven reactors online as early as January 20, 2026.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, located about 220 kilometers northwest of Tokyo in Niigata prefecture, spans 1,000 acres and has a total capacity of 8.2 gigawatts, enough to supply electricity to several million homes. The assembly passed a vote of confidence in Governor Hideyo Hanazumi, who endorsed the restart last month, removing the final political obstacle. TEPCO, which operated the Fukushima Daiichi plant where meltdowns occurred following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, plans to activate a 1.36-gigawatt unit next year, with a second reactor potentially following in 2030. The move marks the first restart for any TEPCO-operated facility since the disaster.

The 2011 crisis forced the evacuation of around 160,000 people and led to the closure of all 54 of...