Eleventh Japanese reactor resumes operation : Regulation & Safety

28 July 2023

Unit 1 of the Takahama nuclear reactor in Japan’s Fukui Prefecture has actually been reactivated after being taken offline greater than 12 years earlier. Kansai Electric Power Company intends to return the 780 MWe (web) pressurised water reactor (PWR) to industrial operation at the end of August.

The four-unit Takahama plant (Image: NRA)

Takahama 1 went into a routine evaluation interruption in January 2011, 2 months prior to the mishap at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that led to every one of Japan’s operable activators being taken offline. Unit 2 of the plant was taken offline in November 2011.

Kansai put on the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to reactivate both activators in March 2015.

In April 2016, the NRA verified the devices fulfilled brand-new safety policies. In December of that year, the NRA provided its authorization for the activators – which started running …