Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan protests with local people in front of the Sendai nuclear plant. After almost two nuclear free years, the owner of the Sendai nuclear power plant, Kyushu Electric Power Company, decided to switch on the Sendai reactor unit 1. There has been significant opposition to the restart of Japan’s 43 nuclear plants, however the government is allowing utilities to restart their ageing nuclear reactors despite unresolved seismic and volcanic safety issues.