2nd reactor since Fukushima meltdowns in Japan restarts full commercial operation

A second nuclear reactor started full commercial operation Tuesday at the Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, in southwestern Japan.

The resumption of full commercial operation followed a final two-day inspection by Japan's nuclear watchdog.

The plant's No. 2 reactor joins Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s No. 1 reactor being fully rebooted in September, after initially going back online in August, marking the first nuclear power plant to resume full commercial operations following new safety regulations in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns.

The move comes as part of the government's push to balance its books by bringing more of the nation's idled nuclear reactors back online following stiffer safety checks by Japan's nuclear regulator, as importing fossil fuels has impacted the trade deficit and taken a huge chunk out of the government's budget.

The government has stood firm on its intentions to resume nuclear power generation, despite a public backlash and a two-year nuclear power interlude, and has said that plants that pass the nuclear watchdog's rigorous safety standards will be brought back online, as part of the government's plans to generate more than 20 percent of the nation's electricity supply from nuclear power by 2030, compared to around 30 percent before the Fukushima disaster, with the drive also underscored by new environmental quotas.

The No. 3 reactor of Shikoku Electric Power Co.'s Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture, northwestern Shikoku, as well as the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, in the Chubu region on Honshu island, are among some of the candidates likely to be given the nod by Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to resume operations, followed by Kyushu Electric Power's resumption of operations of its No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at its Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, in Kyushu.

But it's not all smooth sailing for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's renewed energy mix policy, which will continue to heavily rely on nuclear power in the foreseeable future, as opposition parties, along with the public are still voicing their resistance.

Recent media polls show that the majority of Japanese citizens still oppose the restart of the reactors and this, along with Abe's contentious war moves recently, is weighing heavily on his support rate and that of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has been hovering at an all-time low since Abe came to power for the second time in December 2012. Endit