TEPCO restarted Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Unit 6 (1,356 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor) on February 9, 2026 — the first TEPCO reactor to restart since all were shut down following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident, approximately 14 years after its last operation. Fuel loading was completed June 21, 2025. The Niigata Prefectural Assembly approved the restart on December 22, 2025, followed by NRA pre-operational inspection change filing on December 24, 2025. Reactor startup was on February 9, 2026 (delayed one day from February 8 due to a safety alarm that was subsequently rectified). KK-6 resumed power generation February 16, 2026 with commercial operation targeted for March 18, 2026. KK-6 is expected to produce approximately 9,500 GWh of electricity annually — displacing approximately 1.3 million tonnes of LNG (approximately 62 Bcf of natural gas) imports. With KK-6 online, Japan now has 15 operating nuclear reactors with approximately 33 GW of combined capacity. KK-7 restart has been delayed to 2029-2030. KK units 1-4 remain shutdown and TEPCO is considering decommissioning units 1 and 2.