Company cites issues with scale of construction and labour shortages
Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has delayed the restart of Units 7 and 6 at Japan’s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear station to 2029 and 2031 respectively, citing setbacks in completing required anti-terrorism measures due to struggles with the scale of construction and labour shortages.
The two units were originally scheduled to resume operations in October 2025 and September 2026.
Taking steps against terrorist threats and implementing additional safety and security measures became mandatory under stricter safety standards implemented after the 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima-Daiichi triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami disaster.
Kashiwazaki Kariwa is one of the world’s largest nuclear power stations. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, its seven boiling water reactor units have a combined net capacity of 7,965 MW.
Kashiwazaki Kariwa served as an important energy source to supply electricity to the Tokyo metropolitan area before the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster at Fukushima-Daiichi in northeastern Japan.
Tepco wants to bring the station back online and said in 2020 it was concentrating its resources on restarting the newer Units 6 and 7, which originally began commercial operation in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
Before the Fukushima disaster Japan’s fleet of 54 nuclear plants generated about 30% of the country’s electricity, but were all shut down for safety checks following the accident.
Among the 33 operable nuclear reactors in Japan, 12 have now resumed operations after meeting post-Fukushima safety standards. The restarted plants are: Sendai-1 and -2, Genkai-3 and -4, Ikata-3, Mihama-3, Ohi-3 and -4 and Takahama-1, -2, -3 and -4.
Economy minister Shigeru Ishiba said recently that Japan will need to maximise the use of existing nuclear power plants as AI and data centres are expected to boost electricity demand.
