Tokyo Electric Power Company has agreed to penalties handed down by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for lax security measures at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which will delay restarting the plant for at least a year. TEPCO, which also owns the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, will reduce pay for top company executives as part of the agreement.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority will reassess Tokyo Electric Power Company's capabilities after a series of security failures at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. The agency has asked TEPCO to report on the security lapses by September and the utility could lose permission to transfer nuclear fuel.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority will begin inspecting the safety of the reactors at Tokyo Electric Power's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility in Niigata before restarting its operation. Safety checks could stop if the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant experiences problems, said agency Chairman Shunichi Tanaka. The regulator decided to begin the safety checks after TEPCO showed that improvements were made on the water leaks in Fukushima.

The governor of Japan's Niigata prefecture approved Tokyo Electric Power's proposal to file a request with the country's nuclear regulator to restart two of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant's seven reactors. TEPCO is expected to contact Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority today.

Tokyo Electric Power needs new safety measures before reopening its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility, which has been idle since an earthquake in July 2007, Japan's Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said. TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu said the company intends to improve seismic resistance at the facility's No. 3 reactor by year's end.