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Japan is set to restart the world’s largest nuclear power station, after a technical alarm forced the suspension of its first activation since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Takeyuki Inagaki, head of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)-run Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, told reporters that the utility plans to power up the reactor on February 9, 2026.
The facility was restarted on January 21, but operations were halted the following day after a monitoring system alarm was triggered.
Inagaki explained that a configuration error caused the system to detect minor fluctuations in electrical current in one cable, although the readings remained within safe limits. He said that the company has since adjusted the alarm settings and confirmed that the reactor is safe to operate.
Commercial operations are expected to begin on or after March 18, pending a further comprehensive inspection.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located in Niigata prefecture, is the world’s largest nuclear plant by generating capacity, though only one of its seven reactors will be brought back online for now. The station has remained idle since Japan shut down its nuclear fleet following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered meltdowns at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Japan, which relies heavily on imported energy, is seeking to revive nuclear power to cut fossil fuel dependence, meet its 2050 carbon neutrality target, and support rising electricity demand, including that driven by artificial intelligence technologies.
In January, seven anti-nuclear groups submitted a petition with nearly 40,000 signatures to TEPCO and Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, citing that the plant is located near an active seismic fault zone and noting that it was hit by a strong earthquake in 2007.
