Operating company Kansai Electric Power restarted Japan’s oldest nuclear reactor on Friday.
Reactor unit number one at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture is 48 years old.
It is scheduled to generate electricity from Aug. 2 before resuming full operation on Aug. 28.
The reactor was originally commissioned in 1974 and taken offline in January 2011.
The reactor remained shut down following the earthquake and tsunami in March of the same year, which led to meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
In spite of the catastrophe and the constant threat of new earthquakes, resource-poor Japan continued to rely on nuclear power, aiming to reduce its dependency on oil and gas imports.
Japan has also pledged to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2050.
The government planned to generate around 20 per cent to 22 per cent of electricity from nuclear energy and 36 per cent to 38 per cent from renewable energy sources by 2030.
To achieve this target, nearly 30 reactors would be needed to be put back into operation.
Japan’s parliament recently passed a law that removed the previous 60-year limitation on the operation of nuclear reactors.
Japan planned to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site into the sea, in spite of opposition from local fishermen and neighbouring countries, including China.
The reactors still required water cooling, and the treated water being stored in numerous tanks.
dpa/NAN
