TOKYO, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Two reactors in Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast run by the embattled Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) were cleared Wednesday to restart by Japan's nuclear watchdog.
The clearing of the government's safety standards however sparked harsh condemnation and saw protests from residents affected by the nuclear crisis at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima nuclear plant more than six years ago.
TEPCO's No. 6 and 7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power station would be the first nuclear complex to soon be green-lit by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) under tighter safety requirements introduced in the wake of the 2011 disaster.
The nuclear regulator unanimously accepted TEPCO's draft assessment for the two reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex that has a total of seven reactors and is one of the largest nuclear plants in the world.
But while the assessment by the utility states that safety measures for the two reactors meet the new safety requirements, including new equipment and protocols put in place to deal with serious accidents, including the leaks of radioactive materials from damaged containment vessels, as was the case in Fukushima, citizens here have slammed the move.
Protests were held on Wednesday by anti-nuclear activists, civic groups and evacuees still displaced in the wake of the 2011 disaster, outside the building in central Tokyo where the NRA held its meeting to endorse TEPCO's passing of its safety review.
Similar demonstrations also took place in the vicinity of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power station in Niigata Prefecture and other places in Japan.
Those protesting, most notably, also comprised those who still remained displaced having been forced to evacuate from Fukushima Prefecture in the wake of the disaster that saw huge amounts of radioactive materials released into the air, as well as the land and into the Pacific Ocean.
