Japan's nuclear power regulator on Wednesday said it had approved the construction plans for a Kyushu Electric Power Company reactor that would put it in compliance with ramped up safety standards, the news followed up by sources saying the government had set its sights on a June restart.
The Japan Times reported that the utility company had set June as a target for restarting, making it the first scheduled start in the country since the moratorium shut down all of Japan's reactors.
Kyushu Electric is expected to begin pre-operational tests in late March, the Times said.
While the Kysushu Unit 1 at the Sendai power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture would require an inspection before restarting, opposition to nuclear power in Japan could stall the restart if courts intervene with injunctions.
The upgrades were prompted by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami event that crippled the Fukushima Daiichai nuclear power station in eastern Japan.
Japan is aiming to start 43 reactors, as up to five reactor decommissioning announcements recently have diminished the country's total potential. Before March 2011, Japan had 54 commercial reactors.
One estimate says the cost of refurbishing nuclear reactors in Japan to meet new standards may cause as many as two-thirds of the country's reactors to remain shuttered, Reuters reported.