Japan returns to nuclear power

摘要

Japan has brought its first reactor back on line since the closure of all the country’s nuclear plants in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi disaster. The return to nuclear power after a two-year hiatus has struggled to gain public support but is backed by the government, which considers it crucial to Japan’s economic recovery. Utility Kyushu Electric Power restarted a 890MW reactor at the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima, southern Japan, on 11 August, almost a year after the country’s nuclear regulation authority (NRA) gave it clearance to resume operations under new safety rules. “We are proceeding with restarting reactors that are confirmed by the NRA to meet the country’s safety guidelines, deemed the toughest in the world,” prime minister Shinzo Abe says.