March 13, 2012

Genkai NPP
An additional 1,370 people on March 12 filed a lawsuit with the Saga District Court, seeking the permanent suspension of reactor operations at Kyushu Electric Power’s Genkai Nuclear Power Plant in Genkai Town in Saga Prefecture. The number of plaintiffs in the case now totals 3,074.

After filing, the head of the plaintiffs, Hasegawa Akira, ex-president of Saga University, said, “Our goal is to have a 10,000-strong plaintiffs’ team.”

A 37-year-old woman living in Saga City said, “Both the central government and the Genkai NPP operator have not decided on the discontinuation of the plant. I’m worried about the possibility of an accident.”

Oi NPP
A group of 259 residents in Fukui Prefecture on March 12 filed a petition with the Osaka District Court seeking a provisional disposition to suspend the resumption of operations of Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant of Kansai Electric Power Co.

The residents pointed out, “If a major quake occurs in conjunction with 3 active faults nearby, it could lead to a severe accident at the Oi plant.”

With the regularly scheduled inspection completed, the preparation for the resumption of the two reactors’ operations is now under way.