The governor of Niigata Prefecture in western Japan is set to give approval as early as this week for the restart of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power station, local media reported on 19 November.

The approval will clear the final hurdle in Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (Tepco) bid to bring the facility back online, more than a decade after the Fukushima disaster led to its shutdown.

Earlier reports said Tepco would focus on restarting Unit 6 at the seven-unit facility. Fuel loading at Unit 6 was completed in June.