Japan restarts world's biggest nuclear plant; 60% oppose it

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

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The plant was “started at 19:02" (1002 GMT), Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) spokesman Tatsuya Matobatold 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-year-old resident, told AFP.

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

TEPCO said on Wednesday it would “proceed with careful verification of each plant facility's integrity” and address any issues appropriately and transparently.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world's biggest nuclear power plant by potential capacity, although just one reactor of seven was restarted.