Photo/Illutration Protesters denounce the planned restart of the No. 1 reactor at the Takahama nuclear power plant. The rally and march took place in Osaka's Kita Ward on July 23. (Chiaki Ogihara)

OSAKA--Protesters on July 23 denounced the planned restart of a reactor built in the 1970s at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture.

Residents gathered in front of KEPCO’s headquarters in Kita Ward, Osaka, criticizing the plan to fire up the No. 1 reactor. It is due to go back online on July 28 after a 12-year shutdown.

The No. 1 reactor first came online 48 years ago. 

It is Japan’s oldest active nuclear reactor. All older reactors in the country are being decommissioned.

The No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Takahama plant are currently operating. The No. 2 reactor is scheduled to restart later this year.

The Takahama plant has drawn attention in part because of moves by power companies to keep older reactors in service.

In May, legislation was passed to grant nuclear reactors certification for more than 60 years. The Takahama No.1 reactor will possibly be the first case under this new rule. 

The protest in Osaka comprised 380 people, the organizers said. It was organized by a committee of citizens’ groups.

Masaru Ishiji, 70, from Wakasa, Fukui Prefecture, argued that using nuclear fuel to generate electricity will burden future generations with radioactive waste.

"We should stop doing things that are unfair and unjust,” he said, referring to the legacy for specific locales and generations.

After the rally, the protesters marched around Umeda, a commercial district in central Osaka.

The Takahama No. 1 reactor was shut down during a regular inspection in January 2011, prior to the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March of that year.

KEPCO has been constructing anti-terrorism facilities required by new regulatory standards.

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