15 years after Fukushima, Japan prepares to restart the world’s biggest nuclear plant

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 5 min read 100% complete by Justin McCurry in KashiwazakiJanuary 19, 2026 at 02:46 AM
15 years after Fukushima, Japan prepares to restart the world’s biggest nuclear plant

AI Summary

long article 5 min

Fifteen years after the Fukushima disaster, Japan is preparing to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world's largest. The plant, located in Niigata prefecture and operated by Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), has been offline since 2012 following the Fukushima meltdown. Tepco aims to restart reactor No. 6, potentially as early as Tuesday, to boost electricity supply to the Tokyo area and help Japan meet emissions targets. This move is controversial, with many of the 420,000 residents living nearby expressing safety concerns and questioning the effectiveness of evacuation plans in the event of another major incident. The restart marks a significant step in Japan's return to nuclear energy despite lingering public apprehension.

Keywords

nuclear power plant 100% fukushima 90% reactor restart 80% kashiwazaki-kariwa 80% nuclear accident 70% tepco 60% energy security 60% evacuation plans 50% emissions targets 40%

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Negative
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Source
The Guardian - World News
Political Lean
Center-Left (-0.40)
Far LeftCenterFar Right
Classification Confidence
90%
Geographic Perspective
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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