Niigata governor green-lights restart of nuclear reactor

The governor of Niigata Prefecture on the Japan Sea coast said he intends to approve the restart of a nuclear reactor run by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). This would be the first resumption of a TEPCO reactor since the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The governor told a news conference on Friday that he was prepared to give the go-ahead for restarting the No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. The proposal will likely be passed with majority support by members of the Liberal Democratic Party and others.