Japan restarts world’s biggest nuclear plant despite concerns

AROUND 60% OF RESIDENTS OPPOSE THE RESTART, WHILE 37% SUPPORT IT

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Residents protest against the restart of Tokyo Electric Power Company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture yesterday.

(AFP)

The world’s biggest nuclear power plant was restarted yesterday for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, its Japanese operator said, despite persistent safety concerns among residents.

The plant was “started at 19:02” (1002 GMT), Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) spokesman Tatsuya Matoba told AFP of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture.

The regional governor approved the resumption last month, although public opinion remains sharply divided.

On Tuesday, a few dozen protesters — mostly elderly — braved freezing temperatures to demonstrate in the snow near the plant’s entrance, whose buildings line the Sea of Japan coast.

“It's Tokyo’s electricity that is produced in Kashiwazaki, so why should the people here be put at risk? That makes no sense,” Yumiko Abe, a 73-yearold resident, told AFP.

Around 60 per cent of residents oppose the restart, while 37 per cent support it, according toa survey conducted in September.