- TEPCO halted the restart of the No.6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant after a control-rod alarm sounded during the process.
- Approximately 52 out of 205 control rods were extracted before the reactor was shut down, with a suspected electrical system problem.
- TEPCO is conducting a thorough investigation and has not yet determined when operations can resume.

A: Hey Hana, did you hear about something happening at a nuclear power plant?

B: Oh no! What’s going on, Kenji? Is everything okay?

A: Yeah, it’s in Niigata Prefecture. Tokyo Electric Power Company had to shut down a reactor.

B: Seriously? Why? What happened?

A: Apparently, an alarm went off! Something to do with the control rods. They were trying to get the reactor working again.

B: Control rods? Those control the reaction, right? So, they were trying to start it up, but something went wrong?

A: Exactly! They had already taken out about a quarter of the rods when the alarm sounded.

B: Wow, that's a lot! What do they think caused the problem?

A: They think it might be an electrical issue, so they replaced some parts. But they still can’t figure it out.

B: That doesn’t sound good. Are they worried about safety?

A: TEPCO says everything’s fine, no abnormalities, no impact outside the plant. But they’re investigating really carefully.

B: That’s reassuring, I guess. But how long will it take to fix?

A: The plant manager said it won’t be a quick fix. He doesn't think they'll know what’s up in a day or two.

B: Oh dear! So, no power from that reactor for a while then?

A: Yep. They’re talking to the regulators now to figure out what to do next.