Japan Press Weekly

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2013 April 17 - 23 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Court rejects suit for shutdown of Oi NPP

The Osaka District Court on April 16 dismissed a petition filed by antinuclear activists for a provisional injunction to suspend operations of Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO)’s Oi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture.

The only reactors currently online in Japan are Oi’s No.3 and 4. Around 260 residents in Fukui and nearby prefectures demanded in court that the utility shut down the reactors as the plant could suffer a severe accident if hit by a major earthquake.

The plaintiffs argued that the emergency shutdown system of the reactors may not work properly when hit by a massive quake. They also pointed to the possibility that the nuclear plant may be hit by a tsunami larger than the operator expects. However, the court rejected their argument and turned down the petition.

On the same day, two antinuclear groups jointly staged protests in front of the KEPCO Tokyo branch office building. The protesters stated that though the judge refused to listen to concerned citizens, they will keep working for the shutdown of the reactors.

Regarding suits seeking suspension of nuclear reactors, the Kanazawa District Court in 2006 ordered Hokuriku Electric Power Co. to stop running the No. 2 reactor at the Shika plant. However, this ruling was reversed in the Nagoya High Court Kanazawa Branch and its ruling was upheld in the Supreme Court.

Related past article
> 1,704 file suit seeking shutdown of Genkai nuclear plant [ January 31 & February 1, 2012]