Japan suspends world's largest nuclear plant hours after restart

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete January 22, 2026 at 10:00 AM

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Japan suspended operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, the world's largest, hours after restarting reactor number six on Wednesday. The restart, the first since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, was delayed due to an alarm malfunction. Another alarm sounded during start-up procedures on Thursday, prompting the suspension, although the reactor remained stable with no external radioactive impact. Tepco, the plant's operator, is investigating the cause of the incident, with no timeline for resuming operations. The restart faced local opposition due to safety concerns stemming from the Fukushima meltdown, which led to the shutdown of all of Japan's reactors. Japan aims to revive nuclear power to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, having restarted 15 reactors since 2015.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Niigata 40% Takashi Kobayashi ×260% Fukushima Disaster ×270% Fukushima ×370% Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) ×480% Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant ×390% Japan ×590%

Keywords

nuclear power plant 100% reactor restart 90% safety concerns 70% fukushima disaster 70% reactor shutdown 60% technical issue 50% radiation leakage 50% net zero emissions 40%