In Japan, the world's largest nuclear power plant could soon reopen after installing tsunami walls and other safety measures.
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00:00This is the largest nuclear power plant in the world.
00:04It was able to power over 13 million households.
00:07But for over a decade, this Japanese plant has been offline.
00:12Japan closed all of its nuclear plants after a tsunami in 2011 caused reactors at its Fukushima
00:18facility to melt down, releasing radioactive materials into the air in the worst nuclear
00:23accident of the century.
00:26With this plant, the Kashiwazaki-Kuriwa may soon restart two of its reactors, with more
00:32safety measures to protect against natural disasters.
00:56The plant, located on Japan's west coast, also has a new tsunami wall, 15 meters tall.
01:08It's installed new backup power supplies and a vent to filter out radioactive particles.
01:13Learning from the 2011 disaster, when everything went dark and no one could see, glow-in-the-dark
01:18stickers have been added to parts of the facility.
01:40Japan has already reopened at least 12 other nuclear plants across the country since 2011,
01:46trying to ramp its nuclear energy back up to reach its climate goals.
01:50Before the Fukushima disaster, around a third of Japan's electricity came from nuclear power.
01:56And when it closed its plants, it had to step up imports of other energy sources, like coal,
02:01which produce greenhouse gases and pollutants when burned.
02:05But the local government still needs to approve Kashiwazaki-Kuriwa's reopening.
02:09While a reopening date has yet to be set, the plant is working to up its safety measures
02:30until it gets a green light.
02:32James Lynn and Cadence Coranta for Taiwan Plus.