Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world's largest, is to be restarted on Wednesday for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster that shut down all of Japan's reactors, its operator said, despite public concerns.
“We are making preparations for the start-up of the reactor”, which should take place after 19:00 (19:00 in Romania), the operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) announced in a statement.
This restart is starting with just one of the seven reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's largest in terms of total production capacity.
The governor of Niigata (central-western) prefecture, where the plant is located, gave his approval for the restart last month, despite divided public opinion on the issue: According to a survey conducted in September by the department, 60% of residents opposed the restart, compared to 37% who supported it.
On Tuesday, several dozen demonstrators, mostly elderly people, braved the cold to demonstrate in the snow near the plant's entrance on the shores of the Sea of Japan.
“Tokyo's electricity is produced in Kashiwazaki, and only the residents (here) should be at risk? It makes no sense,” said Yumiko Abe, a 73-year-old resident interviewed by AFP.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa was shut down when Japan shut down all nuclear reactors after the triple catastrophe – earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster – at Fukushima in March 2011.
But the country wants to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet the growing demand for electricity linked to artificial intelligence.
“For me, it is absolutely unacceptable
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has also expressed support for the use of civilian nuclear power.
In total, 14 reactors – located mainly in the west and south of the country – have already been restarted after stricter safety rules were introduced. As of mid-January, 13 reactors were operating.
Unit no. 6 at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa would be the first of Tepco's nuclear reactors, which is also the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has been restarted since 2011.
Almost fifteen years after the disaster, “the situation is still not under control in Fukushima. And Tepco wants to restart a plant? To me, it's absolutely unacceptable,” said Keisuke Abe, an 81-year-old protester.
The vast Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex has been equipped with a 15-meter high tsunami breakwater, new emergency power supply systems installed at height, and other safety devices.
However, some residents have expressed concern, recalling frequent scandals of withholding information, small incidents, and what they consider to be insufficient evacuation plans.
“I think it's impossible to evacuate” in an emergency, Chie Takakuwa, a 79-year-old resident of Kariwa, told AFP.
In early January, several associations submitted a petition with nearly 40,000 signatures against restarting the plant to Tepco and the Japan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, pointing out that the plant is located in an active seismic zone, where a violent earthquake occurred in 2007.
