Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tuesday brought a fourth nuclear reactor back on line after local governments granted their approval.
The move practically ensures that power outages in the Kanto region this summer can be averted.
Tepco's No. 4 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture was restarted in the afternoon after Niigata Gov. Ikuo Hirayama and Kashiwazaki Mayor Masazumi Saikawa formally conveyed their consent to the central government.