The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Japan will be restarted, although 60% of locals oppose it due to safety concerns.

After almost 15 years since the disaster at Fukushima, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the largest in the world, is set to be restarted, with a reactor scheduled to begin operation on Wednesday. It has a maximum capacity of 8,212 megawatts, compared to the Cernavodă plant in Romania, which produces approximately 1,300 megawatts. The operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) has announced that preparations for the reactor's startup are underway.

However, most residents of Niigata Prefecture oppose the restart of the plant, fearing a new disaster, according to a September 2022 survey, which shows that 60% of them do not support the initiative. Protests have recently taken place, and locals express their concern that restarting the plant could endanger the community. Despite these fears, the Japanese government aims to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi supports the use of nuclear energy.