Japan will restart the world’s largest nuclear power station nearly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster.
Local people, many of whom had personally witnessed the 2011 nuclear disaster, fiercely opposed this decision.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, about 136 miles northwest of Tokyo, is scheduled to reopen around Jan. 20 next year.
Japan shut down all 54 of its nuclear power plants. In 2011, a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
A total of 14 of the country’s 33 remaining nuclear reactors have been restarted, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world’s largest nuclear power plant spread over 1,000 acres, has been closed for more than ten years.
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Niigata lawmakers approved a plan on Dec. 22 that cleared the way for Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to restart one of its seven reactors.
TEPCO ran the Fukushima Daiichi plant, whose 2011 meltdown was the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant will be the first TEPCO-operated site to reopen in the country.
TEPCO spokesman Masakatsu Takata reassured locals.
He said, “We are firmly committed to ensuring that such an accident does not happen again and will ensure that Niigata residents never have a similar experience again.”
But not all are convinced – about 300 protesters demonstrated against the decision on Monday, holding banners reading “No Nukes”.
Kenichiro Ishiyama, a 77-year-old protester from Niigata City, is angry.
He said, “I am really angry from the bottom of my heart.
“If something happens at the plant, we will suffer the consequences.”
Another protester, Ayako Oga, 52, said she had moved to Niigata after fleeing the 2011 disaster.
She said, “We know first-hand the danger of a nuclear accident and cannot rule it out.”
The giant nuclear power station can produce up to 8.2 GW of energy, powering several million homes.
The planned restart will bring a 1.36 GW unit online next year, with plans to reopen the second reactor in 2030.
Niigata Governor Hanazumi said, “I want to see an era where we will not have to depend on energy sources that cause concern.”
