Photo/Illutration Seen from right are the No. 3, No. 2 and No. 1 reactors at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari nuclear power plant in Tomari, Hokkaido. This aerial photo was taken in March 2025. (Takayuki Kakuno)

SAPPORO—Bowing to the "inevitable," Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki is expected to announce support for restarting the No. 3 reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari nuclear plant during a Nov. 28 assembly session.

The reactor, located in Tomari village, cleared safety checks by the Nuclear Regulation Authority in July after more than a decade of review.

The final decision will be made after discussions in the assembly.

Prefectural sources said Suzuki plans to outline his stance during a general question-and-answer session.

On Nov. 25, Vice Governor Tsuyoshi Mitsuhashi conveyed Suzuki’s view—“Among realistic options, restarting is unavoidable”—to the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest faction in the assembly.

Similar explanations were also given to other factions.

The timing for announcing the final decision is being considered for early December, when comprehensive questioning of the governor will take place in the budget special committee.

The No. 3 reactor began commercial operations in 2009 but has been offline since 2012 for regular inspections.

After more than 12 years of review, the reactors cleared a regulatory check in July.

Restarting a nuclear plant requires “local consent.”

In August, the central government requested consent from Hokkaido and four municipalities in and around the plant site.

On Nov. 17, Tomari village Mayor Tetsunori Takahashi expressed agreement in the village assembly session.

That approval was followed by Masayuki Takahashi, mayor of Kamoenai village, and Shinichi Narita, mayor of Kyowa town, on Nov. 26.

Meanwhile, Suzuki had repeatedly stated in news conferences that he wanted to make a comprehensive judgment “based on opinions from the assembly and the people of Hokkaido,” without revealing his stance.

At the news conference on Nov. 26, he said, “Restarting is an important issue for Hokkaido’s administration. I would like to present my thinking and then have discussions in the assembly.”

From September until Nov. 24, the Hokkaido government held briefing sessions in the four municipalities near the plant and in Sapporo.

Participants voiced strong opposition, saying, “Has Fukushima’s lesson been forgotten?” and “The evacuation plan lacks effectiveness.”

The Hokkaido assembly also held joint review sessions to debate the restart, inviting representatives from the central government, Hokkaido Electric Power and anti-nuclear citizen groups as reference speakers.

Hokkaido Electric Power aims for an early restart in 2027.

If the No. 3 reactor resumes operations, the company estimates an annual improvement of 60 billion yen ($384 million) in its balance sheet and calculates that household electricity bills—among the highest in Japan—could be reduced by about 1,000 yen per month (around 11 percent).

In 2022, the Sapporo District Court ordered a halt to Tomari plant operations over inadequate tsunami safeguard measures; the case remains under review at the Sapporo High Court.

(This article was written by Tetsuaki Otaki and Kentaro Uechi.)

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