A Japanese utility said it restarted a nuclear reactor on Friday, the fourth to be reactivated following a nationwide shutdown after the March 2011 tsunami disaster.

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and utility companies have been pushing to get reactors back in operation nearly five years after a huge earthquake and tsunami caused a disastrous meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

The accident forced all of Japan's dozens of reactors to shut down for about two years in the face of public worries over the safety of nuclear technology and fears about radiation exposure.