The long-rumoured resumption of nuclear activity is still not certain – for one thing Tepco needs to get geological clearance for the Kashiwazaki plant – but would be highly controversial in Japan following the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

Tepco, Japan’s largest utility, has said it needs to switch reactors back on at the Kashiwazaki facility – the world’s largest nuclear power plant – to remain financially stable.

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