Saturday's restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture is likely to revive public concerns about safety but relieve political concerns harbored by the government and the power industry.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. restarted the No. 7 reactor at2 p.m. by pulling out a control rod to trigger a fission reaction. The reactor reached criticality in 90 minutes, Tepco said.
The restart apparently went smoothly. The test will last for 40 to 50 days before commercial operation resumes and the plan actually begins to generate electricity.