The Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture is to clear an initial safety hurdle Wednesday, a key step in what is likely to be the gradual restart of an industry idled by the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
As Japan swelters through its first summer without any nuclear power in 40 years, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration is keen to start bringing the nation's 48 reactors back online as the prolonged shutdown forces reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports.
All reactors have been shut for safety overhauls since the 2011 disaster.