information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
18 Avril 2015
April 18, 2015
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201504180031
Kansai Electric Power Co. filed an objection on April 17 seeking revocation of a court ruling that banned the restart of two reactors at its Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture.
The utility also requested that the Fukui District Court suspend the temporary injunction it issued on April 14, saying the order could cause “major economic loss” to the company.
The injunction, which residents in the prefecture and elsewhere had sought over safety concerns, legally bans Kansai Electric from bringing the No. 3 and 4 reactors at the plant back online.
Even if the two reactors pass the remaining safety screenings by the Nuclear Regulation Authority and the utility obtains permission from local governments to restart, it cannot do so unless the injunction is suspended or reversed.
If the district court upholds the decision, the utility plans to appeal it to the Kanazawa branch of Nagoya High Court.
Kansai Electric President Makoto Yagi said at a news conference in Tokyo on April 17 that the company will seek revocation of the injunction as early as possible while making every effort to prove the plant is safe.
Given the stoppage in nuclear power generation across the nation and the increase in imported fuel costs for thermal power plants, Kansai Electric has applied for a second time to the industry ministry for approval to raise household electricity rates.
The price increase was calculated on the premise that the two reactors at the Takahama plant will be brought back online in November.
(This article was written by Hideki Muroya and Koji Nishimura.)
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150418p2g00m0dm011000c.html
FUKUI, Japan (Kyodo) -- Kansai Electric Power Co. filed an objection Friday seeking revocation of a recent court decision that banned the utility from restarting two nuclear reactors at its Takahama nuclear plant in western Japan.
The utility serving Osaka and neighboring areas is not allowed to switch the reactors back online unless the Fukui District Court undoes the temporary injunction it issued Tuesday as sought by a group of residents in Fukui Prefecture and elsewhere.
The court decision dealt a blow to the government's plan to revive nuclear power generation, suspended following the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns. Kansai Electric hoped to restart the two units in November after it obtained safety clearance from the regulator in February based on post-Fukushima regulations.
The court said the safety of the Takahama plant is not secured despite the Nuclear Regulation Authority safety approval, saying the new regulations -- which the government has touted as "the world's toughest" -- are "too loose" and "lacking rationality."
Kansai Electric President Makoto Yagi said at a press conference Friday he believes there are "factual errors" in the content of the court decision.
Aiming to restart its reactors as soon as possible, the utility has spent a massive amount of money to boost their safety as required by the regulations.
Amid an increase in imported fuel costs for thermal power generation in the absence of atomic power, Kansai Electric expects a fourth straight yearly loss in the business year that ended in March.
AFP-JIJI, JIJI
FUKUI – The operator of a Japanese nuclear plant whose restart was blocked this week by a court injunction said Friday it would appeal the ruling.
Kansai Electric Power has submitted “a motion of complaint to Fukui district court” over Tuesday’s injunction banning the refiring of the Takahama nuclear plant’s No. 3 and 4 reactors, a company spokesman said.
In its ruling, the court said the safety of the reactors at Takahama had not been proved, despite a green light from the Nuclear Regulation Authority, whose guidelines, the court said, were “too loose” and “lacking in rationality.”
“We genuinely regret that the court did not understand our argument,” the spokesman said, adding that the temporary court order “includes significant factual errors.”
Kepco also warned of huge economic damage if the reactors are not restarted.
The utility had been aiming to begin operating the facilities as early as November, but it cannot restart them unless the ban is removed or suspended.
The nuclear issue is a highly sensitive one in Japan, which remains deeply scarred by the triple meltdown disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant in 2011.
The worst atomic accident in a generation forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, with some still displaced and scientists warning that tracts of land might be uninhabitable for decades.
The nation’s entire stable of reactors — which once provided more than a quarter of the country’s electricity — was gradually switched off following the disaster.
Activists are also seeking an injunction to prevent the restart of reactors at the Sendai plant in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, with a court expected to rule that issue April 22.
But pro-nuclear power Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has backed an industry push to return to fire up the stalled reactors, with the country’s manufacturers complaining over the high cost of electricity produced from dollar-denominated fossil fuels.
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