Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant: Niigata Governor Makes Weighty Decision on Restart of Reactors

Editorial

14:30 JST, November 22, 2025

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant has taken a significant step toward the restart of its nuclear reactors. This would be TEPCO’s first nuclear reactor to restart operations since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

It is hoped that TEPCO will proceed with efforts for the restart of its nuclear reactors with a determination to prevent any recurrence of an accident.

Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi has expressed his intention to approve the restart of nuclear reactors at TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. If the prefectural assembly gives its go-ahead, he will inform the central government as early as within the year that local consent has been obtained.

According to an opinion survey on residents in the prefecture, 50% of respondents were in support of the restart, while 47% were against it, indicating a close divide. At a press conference, Hanazumi said he had judged that when safety measures and disaster prevention steps are made better known to residents, “their understanding of the restart will grow.”

The Niigata prefectural government has proceeded carefully with procedures for the restart of the nuclear reactors through public hearings and other events. This is because residents, in addition to having a deep-rooted distrust of TEPCO, find it difficult to directly feel the benefits of TEPCO’s nuclear reactors restarting operations in Niigata Prefecture, which is located within the service area not of TEPCO but of Tohoku Electric Power Co.

Hanazumi likely made his decision after careful deliberation in consideration of the public interest, such as a stable power supply to the Tokyo metropolitan area and elsewhere, and the contribution nuclear power can make to decarbonization.

After the Great East Japan Earthquake, TEPCO shut down the Nos. 1-7 reactors at the nuclear power plant, fully halting its operations. The restart will begin with the No. 6 reactor, which is already prepared to resume operations. It is assumed that the reactor will restart its operations as early as within this fiscal year.

Before the earthquake, Japan had 54 nuclear reactors nationwide, but this number has decreased to 33 due to decommissioning and other reasons. Of these, 14 reactors — none of which are TEPCO’s — have already resumed operations.

In light of the extensive damage caused by the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the restart of reactors by TEPCO carries significant meaning. It can also be said that this will indicate a growing understanding of the increasing necessity for nuclear power in terms of decarbonization and for other reasons.

Electricity demand is projected to continue rising, driven by such factors as the spread of artificial intelligence. The restart of nuclear reactors connects directly to enhancing national strength, with nuclear power as a stable power source compatible with decarbonization.

However, according to the opinion survey of Niigata residents, about 70% of respondents expressed concern about TEPCO operating nuclear plants. It must not be forgotten that they still take a stern view of the company.

Toward the restart of its nuclear reactors, TEPCO should reform its corporate culture, which has led to repeated scandals, and strengthen its efforts to implement thorough safety measures.

TEPCO’s management is not just one company’s issue. This is because the company also bears responsibility for decommissioning reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The cost of decommissioning the reactors could exceed the initially estimated ¥8 trillion. Restarting a single reactor would improve TEPCO’s balance of payments by about ¥100 billion per year. The company must stabilize its management through the restart, enabling steady progress in decommissioning work and Fukushima’s recovery.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 22, 2025)