Japan Press Weekly

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2017 March 29 - April 4 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Court rejects injunction request against restart of Ikata NPP

The Hiroshima District Court on March 30 rejected the provisional injunction request filed by residents living near the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant who oppose the restart of a nuclear reactor at the plant.

The No.3 reactor at the Shikoku Electric Power N-plant resumed operating in August last year. Similar petitions over the No.3 reactor are also pending in the district courts of Yamaguchi, Matsuyama, and Oita in addition to Hiroshima.

The court ruled that it was “not unreasonable” for the Nuclear Regulation Authority to have concluded that the No.3 reactor meets the new safety standards. The court also ruled that the NRA’s approval of the reactor made sense in terms of the estimated magnitudes of future earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.

Regarding pending applications in other courts, the presiding judge said, “It is unfavorable for a judicial review to vary depending on the court,” implying that restarts would be acceptable as long as reactors meet the NRA standards.

Lawyer Kawai Hiroyuki representing the residents held a press conference after the ruling and severely criticized the chief judge for denying the independence of judges to make decisions.

One of the petitioners said, “It is very disappointing. Another version of the old and discredited ‘safety myth’ may arise.”

Past related articles:
> Residents within 50km zone from Ikata NPP sue for plant suspension [September 29, 2016]
> Hibakusha demand court injunction against planned restart of Ikata NPP [March 12, 2016]