Japan pauses restart of world’s largest nuclear power plant one day after it went online

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 2 min read 100% complete by AFPJanuary 23, 2026 at 01:19 AM

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Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) suspended the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata province, the world's largest, just one day after operations began on Wednesday. The plant, offline since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, halted operations due to an alarm from the monitoring system during reactor startup. Tepco officials stated they do not know how long the problem will take to resolve and are focusing on identifying the cause. The reactor is currently stable with no external radioactive impact. Japan aims to revive nuclear energy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and meet energy needs, despite local opposition citing seismic concerns. This is the first Tepco-run unit to restart since 2011.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Takashi Kobayashi 40% Takeyuki Inagaki 50% Nuclear Regulation Authority (Japan) 55% Fukushima ×260% Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant 65% Niigata ×270% 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster ×275% Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) ×385% Japan ×490% Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant ×595%

Keywords

nuclear power plant 100% restart suspended 90% fukushima disaster 70% reactor startup 70% control rods 60% nuclear regulator 50% seismic fault 40% energy needs 40%