Sendai: Not before June

 March 13, 2015

Earliest Sendai plant restart would be June

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150313_29.html

Mar. 13, 2015 - Updated 11:38 UTC+1

Japanese nuclear regulators next week plan to certify the equipment design paperwork for a nuclear reactor in southwestern Japan. Operators aim to restart the Sendai nuclear plant in June, at the earliest.

Officials at the Nuclear Regulation Authority, or NRA, are set to approve next Wednesday the equipment design documents for the No.1 reactor at the plant. They've decided that the Kyushu Electric Power Company has appropriately assessed the quake resistance of the facilities and equipment.

Last September, the plant's No.1 and No.2 reactors became the first in Japan to clear new, tougher regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. Satsuma Sendai City and Kagoshima Prefecture, where the plant is located, also approved the restart.

Kyushu Electric's next step is to apply for NRA inspections for the No.1 reactor's facilities and equipment.

It also needs to submit the designs of an emergency power generator and other equipment shared with the No.2 reactor. The operator will likely present the documents in April.

Since the NRA's inspections are expected to last more than 2 months, it is unlikely the restart could happen before June.

All of Japan's nuclear reactors are currently offline.