The reboot highlights a dire problem for the country's nuclear program. Japan is running out of space to store spent nuclear fuel and lacks plans for radioactive waste disposal.
Japan restarted Kashiwazaki-Kariwa to meet power demand, but 17 plants hold 17,000+ tons of spent fuel at 80% storage capacity without a disposal solution. The failed recycling strategy and 5-year saturation force a 100+ year underground project, creating long-term infrastructure uncertainty for nuclear expansion.
FILE - The operation floor inside the Unit 6 reactor building is pictured during a media tour at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kariwa Village, Niigata prefecture, Japan on Friday, May 1, 2026.
Toru Hanai/Pool Bloomberg via AP
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Toru Hanai/Pool Bloomberg via AP
Reactor reboot at world’s largest nuclear plant highlights flaws in Japan’s radioactive waste plans
Reactor reboot at world's largest nuclear plant highlights flaws in Japan's radioactive waste plans
世界最大の原発で原子炉再起動、日本の放射性廃棄物計画の欠陥を浮き彫りに
FOCUS: Japan Takes New Path to Survey for Nuclear Waste Dump Site
六ケ所再処理工場、主な説明が終了 完成へ前進も26年度内は厳しく：朝日新聞
KASHIWAZAKI, Japan (AP) — Japan has resumed operations at the world’s largest nuclear power plant to help the country meet huge…
A reactor at the world’s largest nuclear power plant in Japan has resumed operations
Japan restars a reactor at the world's largest nuclear plant nearly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa will be latest plant to restart 15 years after Fukushima disaster shut down country's nuclear energy.
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NIIGATA: Japan took the final step to allow the world’s largest nuclear power plant to resume operations with a regional vote on…
