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Japan has temporarily halted the restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant just one day after it resumed operations, with the operator saying it is unclear when the issue will be resolved.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata prefecture, which had remained shut since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, began restart procedures on Wednesday after receiving final approval from Japan’s nuclear regulator. However, its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), announced on Thursday that operations were suspended after an alarm was triggered during reactor startup.

Tepco officials said the problem is not expected to be resolved quickly. “We do not anticipate this being fixed within a day or two, and it is difficult to say how long it will take,” site superintendent Takeyuki Inagaki told a news conference, adding that the company is focused on identifying the cause.

Tepco spokesperson Takashi Kobayashi said the company decided to reinsert the reactor’s control rods in a planned manner once it became clear the issue would require time to address. He stressed that the reactor remains stable and that there has been no radioactive impact outside the facility.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the largest nuclear power plant in the world by capacity, although only one of its seven reactors had been restarted. The plant was shut down in 2011 after Japan suspended nuclear operations following the Fukushima nuclear meltdown triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Japan, which lacks natural resources, is now seeking to revive nuclear power to cut its dependence on fossil fuels, meet rising energy demands—particularly from artificial intelligence—and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart marks the first Tepco-operated reactor to come back online since 2011. Tepco also operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which is currently being decommissioned.

Public opinion in Niigata remains divided. A survey conducted in September showed that around 60% of residents oppose the restart, while 37% support it. Earlier this month, seven groups against the restart submitted a petition with nearly 40,000 signatures to Tepco and Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, citing concerns that the plant is located near an active seismic fault and was affected by a strong earthquake in 2007.

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