A nuclear reactor damaged by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami is all but certain to resume operations after the governor of the prefecture hosting the facility decided to give the plan the green light, local officials said Wednesday.
Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai will formally announce his decision by the end of the year, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He would become the first governor of a disaster-hit prefecture to greenlight the restart of a nuclear reactor.
For the No. 2 unit of the Onagawa nuclear plant to restart, winning consent from local government leaders is the last required step after it cleared a national safety screening in February.