Japan is set to restart the world’s largest nuclear power plant in the coming week following a brief shutdown caused by an alarm malfunction.
The head of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Takeyuki Inagaki, announced that the reactor is scheduled to resume operations on February 9, 2026.
The reactor was initially brought back online on January 21 but was shut down the following day after a monitoring system alarm was triggered. TEPCO later clarified that the alert was caused by a configuration error that detected minor electrical current changes which remained within safe operational limits.
Inagaki said the alarm settings have since been adjusted and confirmed that the reactor is safe to operate. He added that full commercial operations are expected to begin on or after March 18, 2026, subject to the completion of another comprehensive inspection.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility is the largest nuclear power plant in the world by capacity. However, only one of its seven reactors will be restarted at this stage.
