Japan's first antiterrorism drill simulating a drone attack on a nuclear plant took place Monday.

Some 60 people from police and local coast guard participated in the exercise at the Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, playing out a scenario that a drone flew from a boat and placed a makeshift explosive on the premises of the No. 3 reactor.

Officials of Shikoku Electric Power Co., the operator of the nuclear plant, and bomb disposal unit members of the Ehime prefectural police department also took part.

"We took into account the serious situation regarding terrorism in conducting this drill and I think it is important to prepare for the unpredictable," said Hideto Murase, a local security chief of the prefectural police.

The power company resumed operation of the No. 3 unit in August last year after clearing stricter safety requirements introduced following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The No. 3 reactor runs on plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, which contains plutonium extracted from reprocessing spent fuel.

Shikoku Electric plans to finish building by March 2020 a facility capable of withstanding major terror attacks, such as those involving the crashing of aircraft, and preventing the release of radioactive materials.