The No. 3 reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture started transmitting electricity Thursday morning, ending a two-month period in which Japan has been without nuclear power.
The reactor is expected to reach full-capacity operation on Monday at the earliest. Kepco is also expected to restart the plant's No. 4 reactor on July 18 at the earliest and have it running at full-capacity on or after July 25.
The reactor restart at the Oi plant shows that both the government and Kepco have ignored the lesson from the catastrophe at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following 3/11 — that building and operating nuclear power plants in this quake-prone country could lead to an irreparable catastrophe and that Japan should pursue the path of decreasing and eventually ending its reliance on nuclear power.