taking it a step closer to resumption. The move came after Niigata prefecture governor Hideyo Hanazumi approved the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant last month. The plant was taken offline when Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after a colossal earthquake and tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima atomic plant into meltdown in 2011.

However, the resource-poor nation now wants to revive atomic energy to reduce its heavy dependence on fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet growing energy needs from artificial intelligence. The assembly in Niigata, where Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is located, voted on Monday on a regional extra budget bill, which included a supplementary resolution to endorse the governor's decision. "The measure is approved by a majority vote," the assembly speaker said as most of the 53-seat body stood to express their support. With that hurdle cleared, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) is expected to turn to Japan's nuclear regulator to give final permission for a restart. TEPCO will submit the request to the Nuclear Regulation Authority before the end of the year, Japanese media said. The company is considering putting one of the seven reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa back online around January 20, according to national broadcaster NHK and the Nikkei business newspaper. (Bssnews)