ISTANBUL

The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday approved the aging Takahama nuclear power plant in central Japan to continue operations for the next 10 years, making it the country's first reactor to be endorsed to operate beyond 50 years.

The move is part of Tokyo’s push to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while continuing to rely on atomic power, as Japan considers nuclear power vital in the resource-poor country's energy mix, according to a report by Kyodo News.

The regulatory authority confirmed the Kansai Electric Power Co.'s management assessment, stating that the pressure vessel can endure neutron exposure and that the concrete's durability remains intact even after prolonged heat and radiation.

The facility's No. 1 and 2 reactors, which were approved in June 2016 for extended operation beyond 40 years, were restarted in 2023 for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

In the same year, the Nuclear Regulation Authority approved one reactor at the Mihama plant and two at the Takahama plant, both in central Fukui province, to operate beyond the 40-year limit after they had not been used since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.