Japan’s power utility Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has shut down the 1.3 GW Unit 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant after a malfunction was detected, only one day after its restart (Reuters, 22/01/2026). Unit 6, which had been offline since March 2012, is one of seven reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world’s largest nuclear power plant, with a total installed capacity of 8.2 GW.
The restart was initially scheduled for 20 January 2026 (KEI, 31/12/2025) but was delayed by one day due to an alarm malfunction. The reactor was expected to enter commercial operation in February 2026.
In February 2025, Japan’s updated Basic Energy Plan set a target for nuclear power to account for 20% of the country’s electricity generation by 2040. The plan also supports the construction of new reactors at existing nuclear sites, building on the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s (METI) 2022 announcement to restart up to 17 nuclear reactors and to develop and deploy next-generation nuclear power plants.
Three additional reactors are scheduled to restart: Shika-2 (1.1 GW) in the first quarter of 2026, Tomari-3 operated by Hokkaido Electric Power by 2027, and Onagawa-3 (800 MW) (Enerdata Global Energy Research).
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