Japan's Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission has decided to lift the de facto ban on the world's most powerful nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located in Niigata Prefecture. This is reported on the regulatory body's website.
In April 2021, operation of the plant was effectively banned due to safety violations, and the committee refused to transfer nuclear fuel to the plant. Since then, officials from the nuclear regulator have carried out numerous inspections at the plant to monitor Tokyo Electric Power's (TEPCO) remediation process.
For more than two years, TEPCO has made progress in improving the safety of the nuclear plant. In particular, measures against terrorist attacks, against stormy weather were strengthened and equipment to protect nuclear materials was improved. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference in Tokyo that the government attaches great importance to the safety improvements made at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa and intends to continue the policy of gradually restarting the country's nuclear power plant./BGNES
