Japan Press Weekly

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2012 March 14 - 20 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Residents file injunction against certification of Oi NPP inspection completion

Some 80 residents of Shiga, Osaka, and Kyoto prefectures on March 14 filed a lawsuit with the Osaka District Court against the government to block the resumption of reactors at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture.

The plaintiffs are seeking to stop the government from issuing Kansai Electric Power Co. a certificate of regular inspection completion for the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at the Oi plant.

After the filing, the head of the plaintiff group, Tsuji Yoshinori said, “We already filed a petition with the Otsu District Court in August for the suspension of resumption of operations, but we cannot afford to wait until the court makes a provisional disposition decision. So, with the filing of an injunction against the certificate of regular inspection completion, we aim to stop the restart of operations.”

Another 259 residents in Fukui Prefecture also filed a petition with the Osaka District Court on March 12, seeking a provisional disposition to suspend the resumption of the two reactors at the Oi plant.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) favorably evaluated the “validity” of the “stress test” on the two reactors at the plant. The Nuclear Safety Commission (NSA) also okayed the inspection methods and results.

Following these approvals, Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko is expected to give the green-light for the reactors’ resumption and get local municipalities’ consent in order to start the operations this month.