The Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has paved the way for restarting the 1,060 MWe Tokai-2 nuclear power reactor located in the Ibaraki prefecture of Japan, after concluding that safety measures submitted by Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) - including the construction of a sea wall expected to be completed in March 2021 - passed the required revised safety standards.
Tokai-2 started commercial operations in 1978 and is one of Japan's oldest nuclear reactors to have applied to restart. The unit was mothballed after the Fukushima disaster in 2011 and one of its three emergency generators was damaged by a tsunami but the facility managed to safely enter cold shutdown.
Even though the plant meets stricter safety standards introduced after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident, the unit will reach the government’s operational limit of 40 years on 27 November 2018. Under the current regulations, Japanese nuclear reactors have a nominal lifespan of 40 years, which can be extended to a maximum of another 20 years, contingent on exacting safety requirements. In order to extend the unit's operating life beyond 40 years, JAPC applied for a 20-year extension in November 2017 and expects to receive NRA's approval before November 2018.
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