JAPAN is on the brink of a defining moment in its post-Fukushima energy policy as the Niigata prefectural assembly is expected on Monday to back the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the largest in the world.
The plant, located about 220km northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut down nationwide after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility, the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Since then, Japan has restarted 14 of the 33 reactors that remain operable as it seeks to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa would be the first plant restarted by Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the stricken Fukushima facility.
“We remain firmly committed to never repeating such an accident and ensuring Niigata residents never experience anything similar,” Reuters reported TEPCO spokesperson Masakatsu Takata saying on Monday.
If approval is granted, TEPCO is considering restarting the first of the plant’s seven reactors on Jan 20, according to public broadcaster NHK, although Takata declined to comment on the timing.
The vote by the prefectural assembly will effectively serve as a confidence ballot on Governor Hideyo Hanazumi, who endorsed the restart last month. It is widely seen as the final political hurdle before operations resume. Japan’s trade ministry has estimated that reactivating just one reactor at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa could increase electricity supply to the Tokyo region by about 2%.
The proposed restart comes despite strong public reservations. A prefectural survey released in October found that 60% of residents believed conditions for restarting the plant had not been met, while nearly 70% expressed concern over TEPCO’s ability to operate it safely.
TEPCO earlier this year pledged to invest 100 billion yen over the next decade in Niigata in an effort to gain local support, but scepticism remains widespread.
Ayako Oga, 52, moved to Niigata after fleeing the area around Fukushima in 2011 alongside some 160,000 evacuees. Her former home lay within the 20km exclusion zone around the damaged plant. Now a farmer and anti-nuclear activist, she has joined protests against the restart.
“We know firsthand the risk of a nuclear accident and cannot dismiss it,” Oga said, adding that she continues to suffer post-traumatic stress-like symptoms linked to the Fukushima disaster.
Even Governor Hanazumi, while supporting the restart, has expressed hope that Japan will one day reduce its reliance on nuclear energy. “I want to see an era where we don’t have to rely on energy sources that cause anxiety,” he said.
The push to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa aligns with a broader national strategy to strengthen energy security. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office two months ago, has endorsed nuclear restarts as a way to curb the rising cost of imported fuels, which currently account for between 60% and 70% of Japan’s electricity generation.
Japan spent 10.7 trillion yen last year on imported liquefied natural gas and coal, roughly a tenth of its total import bill. Despite a shrinking population, energy demand is expected to rise in the coming decade, driven in part by the rapid expansion of electricity-hungry artificial intelligence data centres.
To meet those needs while fulfilling decarbonisation commitments, Japan aims to double the share of nuclear power in its energy mix to 20% by 2040.
Joshua Ngu, vice chairman for Asia Pacific at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said public acceptance of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart would mark “a critical milestone” towards achieving those targets.
Momentum behind nuclear power is also building elsewhere. In July, Kansai Electric Power, Japan’s largest nuclear operator, said it would begin surveys for a new reactor in western Japan, the first such project since the Fukushima disaster.
For Oga, however, the revival of nuclear power brings renewed fear rather than reassurance. As she prepares to join protests outside the Niigata assembly during Monday’s vote, she said each development reopens old wounds.
“Every news update about the restart — it’s like reliving the fear,” she said. - December 22, 2025
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