Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has successfully restarted the world’s largest nuclear power station, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, following a technical delay that halted an earlier attempt last month.
The facility, located in Japan’s Niigata Prefecture, returned to operation at 14:00 local time on Monday. This reactivation marks a critical step for TEPCO as it seeks to bring its first reactor back into commercial service since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The No. 6 reactor reached criticality, a self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction, shortly after the restart, signalling the start of a phased return to the national grid.
Engineers spent the last several weeks addressing a sensitive monitoring alarm that forced a suspension of the previous restart attempt in late January.
TEPCO officials confirmed that the alarm had been triggered by minor electrical current fluctuations in a cable, which were ultimately found to be within safe operational limits. Following a recalibration of the monitoring equipment and extensive safety verification, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) cleared the reactor for its current phase of operation.
The return of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is central to Japan’s revised energy strategy under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who secured a decisive election victory on Sunday. The Takaichi administration has campaigned on the “maximum use” of nuclear power to provide a stable baseload of electricity.
This shift is intended to reduce Japan’s reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports and meet the surging energy demands of the country’s growing artificial intelligence and data centre industries while pursuing a 2050 carbon neutrality goal.
Full commercial operation is not expected to begin immediately, as TEPCO will follow a rigorous testing schedule throughout the coming weeks. The utility plans to begin trial power generation and transmission on 16 February, followed by a temporary suspension for final equipment inspections later in the month. If the reactor passes its final comprehensive test, it is scheduled to enter full commercial service on 18 March.
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