Japanese protest against restarting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant

China

Japanese protest against restarting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant

2026-02-21 16:36 Last Updated At：18:57

Japanese citizens held a protest outside the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Friday, opposing the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture.

"Obviously, we haven't truly mastered the technology of treatment of radioactive materials. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), responsible for the Fukushima nuclear accident, is no longer qualified to operate nuclear power plants. The earthquake-prone Japan needs no nuclear power. The final disposal site for nuclear waste remains undecided. There are still people who suffer the pains from nuclear contaminated water and soil today. Many remain displaced. The Fukushima disaster is not over, nor are its harms," said Mizuho Fukushima, leader of Japan's Social Democratic Party.

TEPCO restarted No. 6 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant on January 21, but abnormalities occurred, delaying the restart until February.

Rally participants expressed concern that the Japanese government and TEPCO, having failed to properly address the Fukushima accident, now seek to bring nuclear risks to Niigata Prefecture.

"Fukushima already experienced such a catastrophe, and many people paid dearly for it. Nuclear power must not be restarted," said a protester.

Hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.

The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down nuclear fuel in reactor buildings. The contaminated water is now being stored in tanks at the nuclear plant.

Despite furious opposition both at home and abroad, the ocean discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water began in August 2023.

Musk-owned X challenges 120-mln-euro EU fine

U.S. tech billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform X said on Friday it has filed an appeal at the General Court of the European Union against a 120 million euro (about 141.56 million U.S. dollars) fine imposed by the European Commission under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA).

In a statement posted by X's Global Government Affairs account on the platform, the company said it is challenging the Commission's decision on Dec. 5, 2025. It described the decision as the result of an "incomplete and superficial investigation," "grave procedural errors," and a misinterpretation of obligations under the DSA, while alleging breaches of rights of defense and basic due-process requirements.

The Commission announced the 120-million euro penalty in December last year, saying X had failed to comply with DSA transparency requirements. It cited concerns including the design of the platform's paid verification "blue checkmark," the transparency of its advertising repository, and researchers' access to public data.

X said the case marks the first judicial challenge to a DSA non-compliance fine and could set precedents for enforcement and penalty calculations under the regulation. The company said that it remains committed to user safety and transparency.

Information published on the Court of Justice of the EU website shows the General Court has registered several related actions, all lodged on Feb. 16, 2026, and currently listed as pending, including challenges brought by X and its corporate entities, a separate action linked to Elon Musk, and another filed by the AI-related company associated with him.