Aging Takahama nuclear reactor restarted after 12-yr halt

Kansai Electric Power Co. on Friday rebooted a nuclear reactor at its Takahama power plant in central Japan’s Fukui Prefecture for the first time in 12 years, making it the oldest operating reactor in Japan.

The operator plans to restart power generation and transmission at the No. 1 reactor on Wednesday before resuming commercial operation on Aug. 28, it said.

The reactor, which started commercial operation 48 years ago, went offline in January 2011 for regular inspection and remained so following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, triggered by the earthquake and tsunami in March of that year.

The...