Japan approves restart of nuclear power plant

Japan's nuclear watchdog has given the green-light to a re-modeling of a nuclear power plant in the country.

This is being viewed as a step toward a potential restart of nuclear power generation in the country following the Fukushima disaster.

The plans for the re-model of the power plant in the north of the country are the first to meet the guidelines imposed by the Japanese government after the Fukushima meltdown in 2011.

Critics say the plans are premature, arguing that certain safety measures are not yet in place.

"The Sendai plant is not anywhere near the condition to be able to get approved. Giving it an approval is a big mistake. I think restarting the program will lead Japan to its destruction. I want them to understand," said anti-nuclear protester Makoto Yanagida.

The disaster at the Fukushima plant prompted the government in Japan, is a country already leary of nuclear energy, to shut down all 48 commercial nuclear reactors shortly after the melt-down took place.