Japan Prepares to Restart World's Largest Nuclear Power Plant

Japan is preparing to restart the world's largest nuclear power plant, 15 years after the devastating Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

The western prefecture of Niigata is home to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which still stands as the largest in the world. Completed in 1997, the plant has a capacity of a staggering 8,212 MW and boosted its parent company, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), to the spotlight in Japanese nuclear technology.

However, the plant has been shut down since the deadly Fukushima Daiichi disaster almost 15 years ago. On March 11, 2011, a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake, known as the Tōhoku earthquake, struck off the coast of eastern Japan, blasting the coast with shaking and an enormous tsunami of over 130 feet in some areas. The resulting damage to the electrical grid wiped out the Fukushima plant's backup energy sources, leading to major overheating and eventually, leakage of radioactive contamination into the surrounding area.

After the incident, Japan shut down all 54 nuclear power plants in the country, and contaminated wastewater remains an issue at Fukushima until today. Nevertheless, Japan has been slowly reopening their nuclear power plants, with 14 of the 33 still-available plants now functional once again.

Now, the Niigata government has finally agreed to begin reopening the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, beginning with the initialization of one of the plant's seven reactors. However, the plant will be the first nuclear power plant belonging to TEPCO – who owned the original Fukushima plant – to reopen, sparking concerns among locals who still have reservations over nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster.

According to Japanese public news broadcaster NHK, the activation of the No. 6 reactor will take place somewhere around January 20, and is a major step forward for a country that is working towards moving away from fossil fuels, unlike other nations like the United States.

Despite being the world's fifth-largest emitter of fossil fuels, Japan has established a goal to reach net zero by 2050, and new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi heavily supports nuclear energy.

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Image credit to Reuters