A nuclear reactor in Japan, which was restarted last week for the first time in over 13 years after surviving a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011, has been shut down again due to a technical issue, according to its operator.
The No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear power station, located on Japan’s northern shoreline, was brought back online on October 29. It was anticipated to start producing electricity in early November.
However, just five days after its restart, the reactor faced a malfunction related to neutron data measuring equipment, leading to its shutdown on Monday, the operator, Tohoku Electric Power Co., reported.
While the reactor was functioning as expected without any radiation leaks, the company chose to halt operations to reassess the equipment amid safety concerns from local communities. No timeline for the reactor’s recommissioning has been provided.
This reactor is one of three units at the Onagawa facility, situated about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where catastrophic meltdowns occurred following the March 2011 tremor and tsunami, releasing significant radiation.
Despite being impacted by a 13-meter (42-foot) tsunami from the same earthquake, the Onagawa plant successfully maintained its cooling systems across all reactors and achieved a secure shutdown of operations.
Following the Fukushima disaster, all of Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear power plants were taken offline for safety inspections and upgrades. The Onagawa No. 2 reactor was the 13th of the 33 remaining functional reactors to come back on stream.
In an effort to secure a stable energy supply and meet the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the Japanese government adopted a policy last year emphasizing increased reliance on nuclear energy and is working to expedite reactor restarts.
Following a recent 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula on January 1, 2024, killing over 400 individuals and damaging more than 100,000 structures, there has been heightened apprehension regarding the government’s renewed commitment to nuclear energy. Although the quake caused minor damage to two nearby nuclear sites, the evacuation strategies were deemed insufficient.