The commission under the Cabinet Office endorsed an earlier decision by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, an organization under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, that there is no problem to continue the operation of the reactor run by Tokyo Electric Power Co., they said.
Tokyo Electric needs to acquire an agreement from the Niigata prefectural government, as well as from the Kashiwazaki and Kariwa municipal governments to restart the commercial operation.
The No. 6 reactor was undergoing a regular checkup when the magnitude 6.8 temblor hit a wide area of central Niigata Prefecture on July 16, 2007. It developed water leaks containing radioactive substances and suffered damage to its turbine.
Following repairs, Tokyo Electric restarted the No. 6 reactor in August for a test run. Earlier this month, it reported to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency that there was no problem in the test operation.
It will be the first reactor at the plant to resume commercial operation.
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