TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government on Friday agreed to take several steps to secure local consent for restarting Tokyo Electric Power’s (Tepco) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, including reinforcing evacuation measures in the area.
Tepco has been eager to bring the world’s largest nuclear power plant by generation capacity back online to slash operating costs, but still requires local consent.
Last December, the national nuclear regulator lifted an operational ban imposed in 2021 on the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in northern Japan due to safety breaches, allowing Tepco to work towards gaining local permission to restart.
On Friday, several ministers including the industry and land ministers held a meeting and agreed to establish a new framework aimed at helping bringing the plant back online, the government officials told reporters.
The new framework will involve the industry and land ministries and the Cabinet Office working with Niigata Prefecture, where the plant is located, to discuss the details of measures and how to implement them.
In addition to enhancing evacuation routes for residents in the event of a nuclear disaster, the government will also intensify snow removal systems and develop radiation-proof facilities for residents, the officials said, citing that those measures reflected requests from the Niigata Prefecture’s governor.
The government will also launch a publicity campaign across several media to inform residents about the importance of the plant to electricity supply, they added.
It will also supervise Tepco’s setting up of a framework to strengthen governance of the plant, potentially involving foreign experts and other utilities, the ministers said.
“The Government’s policy is to proceed with restarting reactors that comply with the new regulatory standards, while gaining local understanding,” said Shusaku Kichise, director of nuclear energy policy planning division at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Tepco needs consent from the prefecture’s governor to resume operations. In March, the governor said that more talks were needed over the possible restart of the plant.
Japan has been able to restart only 12 reactors since 2011, with many operators still going through a re-licensing process to comply with stricter safety standards imposed after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Miral Fahmy)
