Japan restarts first nuclear power plant since Fukushima

But after passing stringent new safety tests, Kyushu Electric Power restarted the number one reactor at its Sendai plant on Tuesday morning. Japanese power operators have applied to restart 25 reactors, despite strong public opposition. The disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant was triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami. Kyushu said reactor No.1 at Sendai began operating again at 10:30 local time (01:30 GMT). The number one reactor is expected to start generating power by Friday and reach full capacity some time next month. Safety first Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that the government wanted to press ahead with restarting reactors after they had passed "the world's toughest safety screening". "I would like Kyushu Electric to put safety first and take utmost precautions for the restart," he said. The government has said Japan needs nuclear power to cut huge energy import bills and to cut Japan's growing CO2 emissions. The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo says that more than $100m (£64m) has been spent on fitting new safety systems at the Sendai plant. However, experts have warned that reactors left idle for years tend to experience teething problems and they say such a mass restart of dormant reactors has never been attempted before, our correspondent adds. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority approved two reactors at the Sendai pant last September under stricter safety rules. The second reactor is due to be restarted in October. Despite the government's plans, there is strong public resistance to restarting nuclear power plants and protest were staged outside the Sendai plant on Monday and Tuesday. Local residents say they are worried about potential dangers from active volcanoes in the region. Protesters were rallied by Naoto Kan, prime minister at the time of the Fukushima crisis, who told the crowd: "We don't need nuclear plants." He said the Fukushima disaster had "exposed the myth of safe and cheap nuclear power, which turned out to be dangerous and expensive". One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the coast of Japan in March 2011, triggering a huge tsunami. Almost 16,000 people died and more than 2,500 are still listed as missing, BBC informs. None of the deaths, however, has been linked to the nuclear disaster, although there were a number of fatalities in the subsequent evacuation.