Japan restarts nuclear power plant closest to 2011 Tohoku earthquake

TOKYO – The nuclear power plant closest to the epicenter of the massive earthquake that rocked Japan in 2011 resumed operation, a major milestone in the country’s bid to revive its use of atomic energy. 

Unit 2 at the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in north-east Japan was in the process of being brought back online following maintenance when the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc more than 13 years ago. It incurred some damage but avoided the disaster experienced at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant farther south.

Tohoku Electric Power Company will restart the unit at Onagawa on Oct 29, the company said last week. Stringent restart protocols in the wake of the Fukushima meltdown are the reason it has been offline for so long.

Nuclear used to account for around a quarter of Japan’s electricity mix prior to the disaster, but it was at just 6 per cent as at March 2023, according to the latest official data. As well as being closest to the Tohoku quake, Onagawa No. 2 would be the first reactor to go online in eastern Japan, making it a potential watershed in government efforts to revive the technology, despite public sensitivities.

“If Onagawa No. 2 were to restart as scheduled, it’s a big milestone,” Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto said at a press conference on Oct 25. 

Stricter safety regulations were put in place after the 2011 disaster, and utilities are now responsible for conducting retrofit work at their reactors before they can be restarted. The process can take years, and delays are frequent. Local opposition can also derail restarts.

The eastern half of Japan, which includes the capital Tokyo, has suffered from sporadic power shortages due to the delays in getting the reactors back online. Keidanren, the country’s biggest business lobby, has been urging the government to speed up the nuclear revival.

Japan – along with many countries around the world – is keen on more nuclear power as it is emissions-free and, unlike intermittent wind and solar, is a stable source of electricity.

Tokyo is also courting chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, as well as energy-hungry artificial intelligence data centres.

Onagawa No. 2 will be the 13th of the country’s 33 commercially available reactors to restart following the Fukushima disaster.

There are two other reactors at Onagawa, one of which is being decommissioned. The other one has yet to go through the restart approval process. BLOOMBERG