Japan Restarts Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Reactor While Grappling With Spent-Fuel Storage Crisis

In early 2024, the No. 6 reactor at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa—Japan’s largest nuclear plant—was brought back online after a 14-year shutdown. The restart aims to bolster electricity supply amid a global oil price surge, but it also intensifies the nation’s already strained spent-fuel storage capacity.

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The 2011 Fukushima disaster forced the shutdown of all 54 reactors. Since then, only 15 have restarted, including Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, operated by TEPCO. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has promoted additional nuclear restarts to reduce reliance on imported fuels.

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The No. 6 pool is 88 % full. 15,422 metric tons of spent fuel sit in 17 plants, using 80 % of capacity. Only 15 of 54 reactors have restarted, and government earmarked up to 2 billion yen for stage-1 and 7 billion yen for stage-2 disposal studies.

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Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa asked Ogasawara village to study a high-level waste repository on Minamitorishima, an island 2 000 km south of Tokyo with no permanent residents. The fourth site examined, the study may run two decades.

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Kashiwazaki-Kariwa GM Takeyuki Inagaki warned that without fuel-management plans power generation could stall. TEPCO says it is moving spent fuel to other units and preparing dry-cask shipments north. Akazawa called the disposal challenge crucial for energy security; Prime Minister Takaichi reaffirmed support for nuclear restarts.

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Professor Lila Okamura warned of largely unknown high-level waste from Fukushima. Panelist Satoshi Takano called the Minamitorishima plan political. Ogasawara assembly member Yusuke Hirano said nuclear waste conflicts with UNESCO World Heritage status, and activist Mie Kuwabara called accelerating restarts without a final disposal site irresponsible.

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The government promotes plutonium-recycling, yet a recycling reactor has failed and experts say reprocessing cannot handle the total inventory, leaving a large plutonium stockpile. No firm timeline for a permanent disposal site exists.

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• “Without solid (fuel management) plans, our power generation will stall sooner or later,” — Takeyuki Inagaki, General Manager, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa

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• “With a lot of spent fuel accumulating at nuclear power plants across the country, a final disposal of radioactive waste is a crucial challenge that must be resolved,” — Ryosei Akazawa, Industry Minister

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• “The move seems political,” — Satoshi Takano, Government Panel Member

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• “I was baffled when I heard about the plan,” — Yusuke Hirano, Ogasawara Assembly Member

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• “It’s irresponsible to accelerate restarts and produce more spent fuel without deciding its final destination,” — Mie Kuwabara, Civil Activist

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• “has to deal with massive and largely unknown high-level nuclear waste from the Fukushima disaster,” — Lila Okamura, Senshu University Professor

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The Minamitorishima feasibility study will run two decades, with up to 2 billion yen in stage-1 and 7 billion yen in stage-2 subsidies. TEPCO plans dry-cask shipments within months, and Finland’s first permanent disposal site, opening later this year, offers a possible model for Japan.

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