When Japan restarted one of the seven reactors at the world’s largest nuclear plant in January, many residents of the nearby village of Kariwa (population about 4,200) felt uneasy. Although not the mayor.
Shinada Hiroo expresses unwavering confidence in the people running the nuclear facility, reflecting a changing attitude toward nuclear power in Japan.
Fifteen years ago on Wednesday, a powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami triggered the nuclear emergency in Fukushima. Japan’s government responded by shutting down all 54 of the country’s nuclear reactors. And in 2012, it even decided to phase out nuclear power generation. But today, with Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae at the helm, Japan is slowly putting nuclear power at the center of its national energy policy.
Why do we write this?
Japan shut down all of its nuclear reactors after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Now, the government – and the public – have changed course. The country is returning to nuclear energy, but there is still some skepticism.
Some remain skeptical. But the restart of reactor No. 6 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant is a key moment in Japan’s pivot to nuclear power once again.
“They are colleagues like village farmers and factory workers,” Mr. Shinada says emphatically, referring to the staff and executives at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. The sprawling plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), is located in Kariwa and the city of Kashiwazaki, about 140 miles northwest of Tokyo.
Mr. Shinada, a former amateur racing driver, is one of the few local leaders who has maintained a long-term relationship with Tepco. The company lost considerable trust among the Japanese public after the meltdown of Tepco’s Fukushima nuclear facility in March 2011.
“Although some Tokyo Electric executives used to be called ’emperors,’ the company has paid more attention to local issues,” Shinada says.
This island nation, which is about the size of Montana, has one of the largest economies on the planet. And Japan wants a low-carbon option to continue driving its growth in the 21st century, including energy-intensive data centers that drive artificial intelligence. Nuclear energy is increasingly seen as a good option.
In a December poll by the Jiji Press news agency, 45% of respondents said they supported restarting Japan’s nuclear reactors that were suspended nearly 15 years ago. Another poll conducted by the Asahi newspaper in 2016 found that only 31% supported the reboot, while 54% opposed it. Now, the process is underway, with 15 of a total of 33 operational reactors back online.
But there are still some real concerns.
One of the lessons from Fukushima, says Kashiwazaki city councilor Kondo Yukari, is “to keep in mind that we could be affected by an unforeseen natural disaster.” Japan is an earthquake-prone country with more than 100 active volcanoes, and the government warns that a megaquake could strike at any time off the Pacific coast. Kondo says that’s why the country has imposed stricter regulations on nuclear plants, with tighter safety measures, improved infrastructure and evacuation plans.
At the same time, he understands why there is growing interest in nuclear energy. “We need to ensure stable energy sources and (restarting the reactors) is also very important in light of decarbonization.”
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility is in Niigata Prefecture, where some residents are concerned that the plan to restart the reactor has been carried out hastily.
Yoshida Ryusuke is a potter whose traditional 150-year-old wooden house is less than two miles from reactor number 6. He is concerned that the governor of Niigata has faced intense pressure from federal officials to restart the reactor without a proper evacuation plan for the local population.
“We would be abandoned” in the event of a serious nuclear accident, Yoshida says. “To begin with, that in itself ignores human rights.”
Saikawa Masao, director of the Kashiwazaki Chamber of Commerce and Industry, understands that people were “deeply shocked” by the Fukushima accident.
But 15 years later, Saikawa says the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear facility is an important part of the local economy, including job creation. According to Tepco, about 74% of the 6,640 people who work at the plant are residents of Niigata Prefecture.
Before the Fukushima incident, nuclear plants generated about 30% of Japan’s electricity. Currently, that figure is around 9%, and the government wants to reach 20% by 2040.
Prime Minister Takaichi took office promising to expand Japan’s nuclear power industry. In a speech to Parliament in February, he promised to develop and deploy “advanced next-generation reactors” to replace those scheduled for decommissioning.
The return to nuclear energy has not been without setbacks.
Just hours after the restart at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa station in January, an alarm was triggered due to an apparent malfunction and operations were halted. The reactor was reactivated in early February.
Akazawa Ryosei, Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, says restarting reactor No. 6 is a “crucially important step.”
It is also a key moment for Tepco, which is struggling to get out of heavy debt. The company’s total liabilities amount to 11.9 trillion yen (about $75 billion). In January, the company said it expects a projected net loss of 641 billion yen ($4.1 billion) for the current financial year, due in part to rising costs related to decommissioning work at the Fukushima plant.
Tepco is trying to build trust locally, sending company officials to meet with people who live and work near the Kashiwazaki-Karima plant.
“They visit each of the 1,800 member companies of our group twice a year,” says Saikawa of the Chamber of Commerce. “In addition, they actively participate in volunteer work as members of this community,” he says.
Some community members are still wary of the future.
“We should not depend on the nuclear plant in the long term,” says Sakai Noriaki, owner of a cafe and popular meeting place in Kashiwazaki. However, he admits that some of his clients are Tepco employees and that the people he knows have family members who work at the plant.
