The world's biggest nuclear power plant is set to restart on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, its Japanese operator said, despite persistent safety concerns among residents.
The Governor of Niigata province, where the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant is located, approved its resumption last month, although public opinion remains sharply divided.
After receiving the final green light Wednesday (January 21, 2026), Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said they were "proceeding with preparations... and plan to remove the control rods after 7:00 pm today and start up the reactor".
On Tuesday (January 20, 2026), a few dozen protesters — mostly elderly — braved freezing temperatures to demonstrate in the snow near the plant's entrance, whose buildings line the Sea of Japan coast.
"It's Tokyo's electricity that is produced in Kashiwazaki, so why should the people here be put at risk? That makes no sense," Yumiko Abe, a 73-year-old resident, told AFP.
