TEPCO begins loading fuel into second Niigata nuclear reactor

From left: The No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. began loading a second reactor with fuel at its nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, which may become its first reactor to be reactivated after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
The work started at the No. 6 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant around 1 p.m. on June 10 following the Nuclear Regulation Authority's approval at 11 a.m. the same day.
It will take about two weeks to complete loading 872 fuel assemblies.
When the necessary inspections are cleared, the reactor can be restarted anytime, at least technically.
However, it remains unclear whether the utility can obtain consent from the local communities.
'To win the trust of the host communities, it is important to show that we are safely making technical preparations,' TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa said of the fuel loading at a news conference in May.
TEPCO has sought to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant to rebuild its operations following a triple meltdown at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
The company estimates that it can boost its annual earnings by 100 billion yen ($691 million) if a reactor is brought back online because fuel costs for thermal power plants will decline.
The seven-reactor Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which has been shut down since the 2011 accident, is TECPO's only nuclear power plant as it decided to decommission the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants.
The utility has aimed to first reactivate the No. 7 reactor, the newest of the seven, as early as this summer. It was loaded with fuel in April last year.
However, Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi has not disclosed whether he will support the restart, saying he needs to hear the opinions of prefectural residents, including mayors of municipalities.
In addition, TEPCO in February postponed the completion date of an anti-terrorism facility for the reactor, a requirement for its restart, until August 2029—long past the NRA deadline of October.
An anti-terrorism facility for the No. 6 reactor has not been completed, either. But TEPCO can provisionally operate the reactor until September 2029, the NRA deadline for its anti-terrorism facility, if it gains consent from the local communities.
'There is a high likelihood that the No. 6 reactor will be brought back online first,' an industry ministry official said.
It now appears that TEPCO will seek to restart the No. 6 reactor after gaining consent from the local communities and reactivate the No. 7 reactor once its anti-terrorism facility is built in August 2029.
The No. 6 reactor would be shut down in September that year but could be restarted again if the utility completes its anti-terrorism facility in September 2031 in accordance with its revised schedule.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which straddles Kashiwazaki city and Kariwa village, is one of the world's largest nuclear power plants with a total power generating capacity of 8.21 million kilowatts.
The No. 6 and No. 7 reactors started commercial operations in November 1996 and July 1997, respectively. Both are advanced boiling water reactors, each capable of generating 1.35 million kilowatts.
The remaining five reactors, which started commercial operations between 1985 and 1994, are all conventional boiling water reactors capable of generating 1.1 million kilowatts individually.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Kyodo News

a day ago

• Kyodo News

Kyodo News Digest: June 19, 2025

KYODO NEWS - 23 hours ago - 23:00 | All, World, Japan The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Nippon Steel confident management freedom ensured in U.S. Steel deal TOKYO - Nippon Steel Corp.'s top executive Eiji Hashimoto said Thursday that the U.S. government's role set under its $14.1 billion buyout of United States Steel Corp. "will not hamper" the U.S. unit's business going forward. At a press conference in Tokyo, Hashimoto said $11 billion of investment in U.S. Steel operations -- 10 times more than the initial plan -- and a golden share issued to the U.S. government that allows it to veto key management decisions among other conditions are rational, even as analysts view them as downside risks to U.S. Steel's management. ---------- Japan PM Ishiba rules out lower house dissolution for now: lawmaker TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday ruled out dissolving the powerful House of Representatives for now, ensuring that elections for both chambers of parliament will not be held on the same day in July, party executives said. The decision comes as Yoshihiko Noda, head of Japan's main opposition party, said he will not submit a no-confidence motion against Ishiba's Cabinet, arguing that such a move would stall progress on key political issues. ---------- Japan to send 2 defense force planes for possible Mideast airlift TOKYO - Japan will send two Self-Defense Forces airplanes to eastern Africa for a possible operation to evacuate its nationals from the Middle East, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Thursday, amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. Nakatani told reporters that two C-2 transport aircraft with a total of about 120 crew members will fly to an SDF base in Djibouti and be on standby there, following a request from Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya earlier that day. ---------- Japan imperial couple commemorates A-bomb victims in Hiroshima HIROSHIMA - Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Thursday visited Hiroshima to pay their respects to atomic bomb victims ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. In their first trip to the city since the emperor's accession in 2019, the imperial couple laid white flowers and bowed deeply at a cenotaph in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which holds the names of around 340,000 victims of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing. ---------- Chief organizer of Nobel Prize A-bomb survivors group steps down TOKYO - Sueichi Kido, 85, officially stepped down as secretary general of Japan's Nobel Peace Prize-winning atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo at its annual meeting on Thursday due to ill health. Kido was 5 years old when he was exposed to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in the final days of World War II. In 2017, he assumed the post that effectively leads the group's efforts to abolish nuclear arms and was among the delegation that accepted the Nobel Prize in Oslo in December. ---------- New Zealand pauses Cook Islands funding over deepening China ties SYDNEY - New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands, the government said Thursday, as relations between the two countries deteriorate over the South Pacific island nation's deepening ties with China. A spokesman for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand has paused NZ$18.2 million ($10.9 million) in development assistance funding for the 2025-2026 financial year, noting such support depends on a "high trust bilateral relationship." ---------- Kyodo News endorses executive director Sawai as president TOKYO - Kyodo News formally endorsed Executive Director Toshimitsu Sawai, who previously served as chief editor of the Foreign News Section, as its president on Thursday. At an organizational meeting, Sawai, 62, who became executive director in June 2021, said, "As the media environment grows increasingly challenging in many ways, I feel a strong sense of responsibility." ---------- Knife, armor from Japan's largest ancient keyhole-shaped tomb found OSAKA - A gold-plated iron knife and armor fragments, believed to have been made with advanced 5th-century techniques, have been confirmed as coming from Japan's largest ancient keyhole-shaped tomb mound, a university said Thursday. The Daisen Kofun in Osaka Prefecture is under control of the Imperial Household Agency as the mausoleum of Emperor Nintoku, who is said to have reigned in the 4th century, but academic debate continues about who was actually buried there. Video: Hydrangea festival at Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine in western Japan

Japan Times

3 days ago

• Japan Times

Tepco to cut household electricity bills in July

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings is expected to lower its electricity rate for a standard household by ¥616 from the previous month to ¥8,236 in July, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The reduction is largely as a result of subsidies that the Japanese government plans to provide for three months starting next month to lower electricity and city gas bills in an effort to mitigate the impact of higher prices on households. Nine other major power suppliers and four major city gas providers in Japan are also likely to considerably reduce their rates. The government will pay subsidies of ¥2 per kilowatt-hour of electricity in July and September, and ¥2.4 in August, when power consumption usually grows because of more people using air conditioners. For city gas, the government will spend ¥8 per cubic meter in July and September and ¥10 in August. Tepco assumes that a standard household consumes 260 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month. The company expects the subsidies to lower the bill for a standard household by ¥520 in July. Its July rates will also reflect lower costs for coal and liquefied natural gas that are used for power generation.

Asahi Shimbun

4 days ago

• Asahi Shimbun

Ishiba leaves G-7 summit with Upper House election on mind

CALGARY, Canada—Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba wrapped up his first Group of Seven summit, ready to return to domestic politics, including the Upper House election, but without a deal with the United States to show voters. The G-7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, ended on June 17 without a comprehensive joint declaration by the G-7 leaders. Still, Ishiba said the summit gave him and the other world leaders the opportunity to exchange frank opinions on international affairs, including the situation in the Middle East. 'Through the intensive discussions during these two days, we were able to demonstrate our united G-7 leadership in addressing the various issues facing the international community,' Ishiba said at a news conference in Calgary on June 17. 'It was a great achievement that we were able to issue a leaders' statement in solidarity on important issues, when the world is facing a new turning point.' Ishiba said he discussed topics related to North Korea and disaster prevention. 'We will continue to deepen multi-layered cooperation with our allies and like-minded countries, and we will work hard on diplomacy to protect our country's independence, peace and our people's lives,' he said. The Japanese government had hoped that Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump would reach an agreement at the summit on removing or reducing U.S. tariffs, particularly on automobiles. But no deal was reached. 'I will do everything I can to ensure there is no insufficiency in countermeasures against urgent issues, such as rising prices and responding to U.S. tariffs,' Ishiba said in response to a question about the July 20 Upper House election. Asked how he would respond if opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion against his Cabinet, Ishiba said, 'I will refrain from commenting on hypothetical questions.' Regarding the ruling coalition's plan to provide 20,000 yen ($138) in cash handouts to every resident, Ishiba said: 'We are also taking measures to combat rising prices. So, please consider this handout as part of our comprehensive strategy.' He also expressed his view that 20,000 yen is 'not a small amount.' In addition, Ishiba frowned on the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's promise for a temporary lifting of the consumption tax on food items as a countermeasure against rising prices. 'A cash handout is much more effective,' Ishiba said. 'We should be extremely cautious about reducing the consumption tax.' (This article was written by Junichiro Ishii and Shinya Tokushima.)