6 months ago
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Japan is acceptable to instrumentality the last measurement to restart the world’s largest atomic power works connected Monday (December 22, 2025) erstwhile the portion of Niigata votes connected the resumption of operations, successful a watershed infinitesimal for the country’s pivot backmost to atomic vigor astir 15 years aft the Fukushima disaster.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located astir 220 km (136 miles) northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors unopen aft the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi works successful the worst atomic catastrophe since Chernobyl. Since then, Japan has restarted 14 of the 33 that stay operable, arsenic it tries to wean itself disconnected imported fossil fuels. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa volition beryllium the archetypal operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which ran the doomed Fukushima plant.
Around 300 protesters, mostly older people, holding banners speechmaking ‘No Nukes’, ‘We reason the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’ and ‘Support Fukushima’ gathered successful beforehand of the Niigata prefecture assembly connected a chilly, grey Monday (December 22, 2025), arsenic section lawmakers prepared to marque their determination aboriginal successful the day.
As the rally started, successful temperatures of 6°C up of the vote, radical were singing ‘Furusato’: a nationalist opus astir transportation to a birthplace, meaning ‘homeland’ successful Japanese.
“Is TEPCO qualified to tally Kashiwazaki-Kariwa?”, a protester asked into the microphone, with the assemblage yelling: “No!”
If approved, TEPCO is considering reactivating the archetypal of 7 reactors astatine the works connected January 20, nationalist broadcaster NHK reported.
“We stay firmly committed to ne'er repeating specified an mishap and ensuring Niigata residents ne'er acquisition thing similar,” said TEPCO spokesperson Masakatsu Takata. Mr. Takata declined to remark on timing.
Reculant residents wary of restart
TEPCO earlier this twelvemonth pledged to inject 100 cardinal yen ($641 million) into the prefecture implicit the adjacent 10 years arsenic it sought to triumph the enactment of Niigata residents.
But galore locals stay wary.
A survey published by the prefecture successful October recovered 60% of residents did not deliberation conditions for the restart had been met. Nearly 70% were disquieted about TEPCO operating the plant. Ayako Oga, 52, settled successful Niigata aft fleeing the country astir the Fukushima works successful 2011 with 160,000 different evacuees. Her aged location was wrong the 20 km irradiated exclusion zone. The husbandman and anti-nuclear activistic has present joined protests against what she sees arsenic a caller menace connected her doorstep.
“We cognize firsthand the hazard of a atomic mishap and cannot disregard it,” said Ms. Oga, adding that she inactive struggles with post-traumatic stress-like symptoms from what happened astatine Fukushima. Even Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi, who backed the restart past month, hopes that Japan volition yet beryllium capable to trim its reliance on atomic power. “I privation to spot an epoch wherever we don’t person to trust connected vigor sources that origin anxiety,” helium said.
Strengthening vigor security
On Monday (December 22, 2025), the prefecture’s assembly volition formed a ballot of assurance connected Hanazumi, a de facto ballot connected his enactment for the restart. The ballot is seen arsenic the last hurdle earlier TEPCO restarts the archetypal reactor, which unsocial could boost energy proviso to the Tokyo country by 2%, Japan’s Trade Ministry estimated. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took bureau 2 months ago, has backed atomic restarts to fortify vigor information and to antagonistic the outgo of imported fossil fuels, which relationship for 60% to 70% of Japan’s energy generation.
Japan spent 10.7 trillion yen ($68 billion) past twelvemonth connected imported liquefied earthy state and coal, a tenth of its full import costs.
Despite its shrinking population, Japan expects vigor request to emergence over the coming decennary owed to a roar successful power-hungry AI information centres. To conscionable those needs and its decarbonisation commitments, it has acceptable a people of doubling the stock of atomic powerfulness successful its energy premix to 20% by 2040.
Joshua Ngu, vice president for Asia Pacific astatine consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said nationalist acceptance of the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa would correspond “a captious milestone” towards reaching those goals.
In July, Kansai Electric Power, Japan’s apical atomic powerfulness operator, said it would statesman conducting surveys for a reactor successful occidental Japan, the archetypal caller portion since the Fukushima disaster. But for Ms. Oga, who besides joined Monday’s (December 22, 2025) protests extracurricular the Assembly chanting ‘Never hide Fukushima’s lessons!’ unneurotic with others, the atomic revival is simply a terrifying reminder of the imaginable risks. “As a unfortunate of the Fukushima atomic accident, I privation that nary one, whether successful Japan oregon anyplace successful the world, ever again suffers the damage of a atomic accident,” she said.
