Japan on Monday restarted a reactor at the world's largest nuclear power plant in Niigata prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, after determining the cause of a malfunction that forced a shutdown last month, local media reported.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) restarted the No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, which had been suspended on Jan. 23 after an alarm sounded during control rod withdrawal, Kyodo News reported.
The reactor had been taken offline shortly after being brought back online, marking TEPCO's first reactor restart since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
TEPCO said it plans to begin commercial operations on March 18, following continued equipment inspections to ensure system safety at the 1,360-megawatt reactor.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, which has a total capacity of 8.2 gigawatts and consists of seven reactors, has remained largely idle since 2012 in the aftermath of the earthquake- and tsunami-triggered Fukushima accident.
The plant uses boiling water reactors, the same type involved in the Fukushima disaster, and is operated by TEPCO.
Japan briefly restarted operations at the reactor in late January but halted them a day later due to problems involving control rod systems.
