Overview
- Reactor 6 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant began restart procedures but the process was suspended within hours after a monitoring-system alarm.
- TEPCO says the unit remains stable with no radioactive release and has been taken back down for inspection, with reports citing a control‑rod check during which the alarm was triggered.
- The restart had already been postponed from January 20 following a previous alarm-system malfunction at the unit.
- Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority cleared the restart after extensive safety tests, marking TEPCO’s first reactor return since Fukushima at the world’s largest nuclear plant by capacity.
- Officials present the restart as key for power supply, tariffs and decarbonization, with output intended for greater Tokyo, while local polls and petitions show significant opposition.