Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma visited Niigata Prefecture on Wednesday and declared that the No. 4 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is safe.
Hiranuma visited the prefectural assembly and officially deemed the reactor safe in a bid to win the support of local governments and residents to restart it.
"The (central) government has confirmed that there are no safety problems in resuming operations," he said.
Hiranuma said METI will take full responsibility for the administration of nuclear energy policy, and that authorities are confident that various legal amendments made in recent months will be effective.