Japan ends nuclear shutdown more than four years after Fukushima

Tokyo: Japan on Tuesday switched on a nuclear reactor, officials said, ending a two-year shutdown in the energy-hungry country that was sparked by public fears following the 2011 Fukushima crisis, the worst atomic disaster in a generation.

"The reactor No 1 at the Sendai nuclear power plant started operating at 10:30 am (0130 GMT)," said a spokesman for Kyushu Electric Power, which operates the reactor about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) southwest of Tokyo.

The restart marks Japan's return to nuclear energy four-and-half-years after the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan following an earthquake and tsunami.

The disaster displaced more than 100,000 people due to radioactive contamination in the area and spurred a national debate over this resource-scarce country's reliance on nuclear power.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority affirmed the safety of the Sendai reactor and another one at the plant last September under stricter safety rules imposed after the 2011 accident.