Why nuclear power still feels unsettling as an Australian in Japan

After years of living in Japan, I've grown used to a whole bunch of things that once felt unfamiliar, such as earthquake alerts and a general awareness of different natural risks. However, recent news that the Tokyo Electric Power Company is considering restarting Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata around January 20th still gives me an uneasy feeling.

The concept of nuclear energy is one that was foreign to me as an Australian, but feels very close to home as an expat in Japan. 

TEPCO is moving toward a restart pending final local consent and regulatory inspections, with Niigata's governor already signaling approval. If it goes ahead, this would be the company's first nuclear restart since the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Even with strict inspections and oversight, that fact alone carries some significant weight.

Part of my discomfort probably comes from perspective. Back home in Australia, nuclear power isn't part of everyday life. Australia has no operating nuclear power plants, and energy debates rarely involve concerns over evacuation zones or long-term contamination, so nuclear risk while living there felt distant and theoretical.

In Japan, of course, it's different. Nuclear power is tangible and deeply tied to lived experience, and the memory of Fukushima still lingers, naturally shaping how people think about safety and trust. Personally living about 50 kilometers from Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, it's hard not to imagine worst-case scenarios, even though I'm fully aware of the need for stable energy.

Situations like this remind me that living abroad occasionally means inheriting anxieties you never had back home, and learning to sit with them.

How do you feel about nuclear power? Is it a thing in your home country? Were you here in 2011 when everything happened with Fukushima Daiichi?