Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2013 December 25 - 2014 January 7 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Citizens file suit for shutdown of 11 nuclear reactors in Fukui

Seeking a ban on the operation of 11 nuclear power reactors in Fukui Prefecture, citizens filed a lawsuit with the Otsu District Court in Shiga Prefecture.

Out of the 57 plaintiffs, 54 are living in Shiga located south of Fukui. They demand that the residents in Shiga as well as Lake Biwa, the water source for 14 million people in the Kinki region, be protected from the dangerous risk of contamination from nuclear power plants their neighboring prefecture is hosting.

The eleven reactors are at the Mihama, Takahama, and Oi nuclear power plants located along Wakasa Bay in Fukui Prefecture. All of them are operated by Kansai Electric Power Co.

At a press conference, the plaintiffs’ lawyer Ido Ken’ichi stated that it is the first nuclear energy-related lawsuit to be filed since the national government approved its new safety standards for nuclear power plants. He expressed his intention to question in court the numerous problems the new standards are posing.

The plaintiffs are still waiting for the court’s response to an injunction against the operation of the nuclear power plants they filed in August 2011.

Tsuji Yoshinori, heading the plaintiffs’ group, said, “Although we filed the injunction to achieve a swift suspension of the reactors, the court has yet to make any decision. We want the court to proceed with a fair trial open to the public.”

Past related articles:
> Residents request Fukui gov’t to not approve NPP restart (March 17, 2012)
> Residents file injunction against certification of Oi NPP inspection completion (March 15, 2012)