April 24, 2012

A local citizens’ group on April 23 filed a lawsuit with the Niigata District Court against Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), demanding that the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant be shut down in Niigata Prefecture.

The plaintiffs are 132 residents of Niigata and other prefectures, including evacuees from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

They argued that TEPCO should stop operating the plant because it is not qualified as a nuclear facility administrator.

“I live 2 kilometers away from the facility. The Fukushima accident is not just a fire on the other side of the river which doesn’t concern me. I’m always afraid of a nuclear accident occurring here because it could happen at any time. Let’s work together to win the case,” one of the plaintiffs, Yoshida Ryusuke from Kashiwazaki City said at a meeting they held before filing the case.