At the Onagawa power plant, the first time since the 2011 disaster
For the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, northeastern Japan will see the restart of a nuclear reactor. This is unit number 2 of the Onagawa power plant, in Miyagi prefecture, which runs on boiling water, the same type of plants that suffered a core meltdown during the nuclear crisis.
The Onagawa reactor, operated by Tohoku Electric Power, passed safety tests in February 2020, obtaining the green light from local authorities to resume operations after more than a decade, thanks to the completion of work to optimize the safety of the plant, including the construction of a 29 meter high boundary wall and the improvement of the seismic resistance of the reactor building. During the March 2011 disaster, all three reactors at the Onagawa plant, closer to the epicenter of the magnitude 9 earthquake but better positioned than those at Fukushima Daichii, automatically shut down.
The utility expects to begin power generation and transmission in early November, with commercial operation expected around December. Despite the Tokyo government’s desire to accelerate the resumption of nuclear power plants in the country lacking energy resources, concerns about safety remain among various segments of the population. More than a dozen Ishinomaki residents had filed a lawsuit in 2021 to keep the Onagawa plant offline, citing flaws in the evacuation and emergency plan, but the Sendai District Court rejected the request in May 2023.
In addition to the Onagawa unit, at least twelve reactors at six nuclear power plants in central and southwestern Japan have resumed operations after passing required safety standards.
