Adds TEPCO statement in paragraph 3, background in paragraphs 8-10

By Katya Golubkova

TOKYO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) 9501.T could restart a reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, delayed from January 20 due to equipment checks, on Wednesday after inspections were completed, Kyodo News reported.

TEPCO plans to put online the 1.36 gigawatt (GW) reactor No. 6, one of seven at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world's biggest nuclear power station capable of producing 8.2 GW of electricity when at its full capacity.

The restart was delayed from January 20 as TEPCO was investigating an alarm malfunction. As of early Wednesday, the equipment in question was functioning normally, TEPCO said in a statement, and it seeks a nod from the Nuclear Regulation Authority, Japan's atomic watchdog, to proceed with the restart.

It had earlier planned to return reactor No. 6 to commercial operation by the end of February. Reactor No. 7 is expected to be restarted around 2030 and some others could be decommissioned.

The revival of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa would bring the total number of reactors in Japan currently restarted to 15, out of the 33 reactors that remain operable after the shutdown of Japan's entire fleet of 54 reactors in the wake of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi reactor meltdown in 2011.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is pushing for the construction of new reactors, especially new-generation and small modular reactors (SMRs), with the government recently announcing a new public funding scheme to accelerate a nuclear power comeback.

After setbacks in its offshore wind roll-out and inflation pressure from fossil fuel imports, Japan is switching its attention to nuclear power again to boost energy security and reduce gas and coal purchases.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa's restart, the first for TEPCO since the Fukushima disaster, is a major test for the entire Japanese nuclear power industry, as six reactors operated by other utilities, including Chubu Electric Power Co 9502.T, are awaiting regulatory decisions on their potential restarts.

The developments are also in focus as Japan seeks to boost cooperation with the U.S., its closest ally, on new-generation nuclear reactors and SMRs, with the global atomic industry largely dominated by China and Russia.

This month, Japan's nuclear watchdog said it would order Chubu Electric to provide a detailed report on falsified seismic data and pause a review of the utility's application to restart Hamaoka, its only atomic plant, as public support for greater usage of nuclear power remains divided.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Jamie Freed and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

((jekaterina.golubkova@thomsonreuters.com;))