Japan prepares to restart world's biggest nuclear plant

Japan is set to take the final step to restart the world's largest nuclear power plant on Monday when the region of Niigata votes on the resumption of operations, in a watershed moment for the country's pivot back to nuclear energy nearly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster.



Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 220 km northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Since then, Japan has restarted 14 of the 33 that remain operable,as it tries to wean itself off imported fossil fuels.



Kashiwazaki-Kariwa will be the first operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co, which ran the doomed Fukushima plant.



Around 300 protesters, mostly older people, holding banners reading 'No Nukes', 'We oppose the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa' and 'Support Fukushima' gathered in front of the Niigata prefecture assembly on a chilly, grey Monday, as local lawmakers prepared to make their decision later in the day.



As the rally started, in temperatures of 6 degrees Celsius (42.8 degrees Fahrenheit) ahead of the vote, people were singing 'Furusato' - a national song about connection to a birthplace, meaning 'homeland' in Japanese.