After a prior effort that was delayed due to a minor technical issue, Japan's operator said Monday that the world's largest nuclear power plant has been restarted.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant's first restart since the 2011 Fukushima accident was halted in January due to a monitoring alarm problem.

At 2:00 pm local time (0500 GMT), the Tokyo Electric Power Company declared that the Niigata facility was back in operation.

After Japan shut down its nuclear reactors following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that caused a meltdown at the Fukushima atomic plant, the plant remained offline.

Japan is now turning back to nuclear energy in an effort to become carbon neutral by 2050, satisfy rising energy demands brought on by artificial intelligence, and lessen dependency on fossil fuels.

Sanae Takaichi, the conservative prime minister who won a landslide election victory on Sunday, has long defended nuclear energy as a major factor in Japan's economic expansion.

On January 21, TEPCO made an initial attempt to restart one of the seven reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa. However, a monitoring system warning occurred the next day, and activities were halted.

At a press conference last week, TEPCO officials clarified that the alarm had detected minor variations in one cable's electrical current, even though they were still within a safe range.

The company has now adjusted the alarm settings, deeming the reactor safe for operation.

about a second thorough inspection, commercial operations are anticipated to start on or about March 18.

Only one of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa's seven reactors has been restarted, despite the fact that it is the largest nuclear power station in the world in terms of theoretical capacity.

As of mid-January, 13 of the 14 reactors that have reopened since the post-Fukushima shutdown are located primarily in western and southern Japan.

TEPCO, which oversees the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, has restarted its first reactor since 2011.

Significant safety improvements have been made to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex, including the installation of elevated emergency power systems, a 15-meter (50-foot) tsunami wall, and other preventative measures.

There is still a significant gap in local sentiment; according to a September survey conducted by Niigata prefecture, over 60% of people are against the restart, while 37% are in favour of it.

Citing past cover-up scandals, minor mishaps, and what they perceive to be inadequate evacuation measures, many have voiced their anxiety over the likelihood of a severe accident.

A petition with around 40,000 signatures was delivered to TEPCO and Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on January 8 by seven anti-restart organisations.

TEPCO said in a statement on Monday that it would "continue to demonstrate our commitment to safety as our priority at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station through our actions and results."