Japan to restart second nuclear reactor

Japanese authorities are set to restart another nuclear reactor on October 15, making it the second to resume operation after the government introduced stricter safety regulations following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, the media reported.

The first reactor in the Sendai plant in Kyushu's Kagoshima prefecture restarted on August 11 after the Fukushima disaster which was triggered by the huge tsunami and earthquake on March 11, 2011. It subsequently led to the shut down of all of Japan's commercial reactors by the end of September 2013 due to safety concerns.

The utility's operator Kyushu Electric Power Co., announced the its plan to reactivate the No. 2 reactor also at the Sendai complex to the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Friday, The Japan Times reported.

The government plans to have nuclear power account for 20 percent to 22 percent of Japan's total electricity supply in 2030, compared with roughly 30 percent before the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 complex, despite the majority of the public opposing nuclear plant restarts.

Kyushu Electric finished inserting 157 fuel rod assemblies into the No. 2 reactor last month and will begin final inspections from October 9.