TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese utility Kyushu Electric Power Co said it will restart the No.2 reactor at its Sendai nuclear plant on Thursday (Oct 15), the second unit to resume operations after dozens of reactors were shut following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Japan has been inching back towards nuclear energy, turning on its first reactor, the 890-MW Sendai No.1 unit, in mid-August after a near two-year blackout.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and many senior figures in industry are backing nuclear power to cut fuel bills, despite widespread public opposition to atomic power.

A Kyushu Electric spokesman said the utility aimed to restart the 89-megawatt Sendai No.2 reactor at 0130 GMT (9.30am Singapore time) on Thursday and start power generation from the unit on Oct 21.