Kagoshima residents appeal

 May 6, 2015

Kagoshima residents appeal court’s go-ahead to restart Sendai reactors

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/06/national/crime-legal/kagoshima-residents-appeal-courts-go-ahead-to-restart-sendai-reactors/#.VUpu-JPwmic

Kyodo

KAGOSHIMA – Local residents on Wednesday appealed a court decision last month dismissing calls to stop the restart of two reactors at the Sendai nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture.

The appeal, filed with the Fukuoka High Court’s Miyazaki branch, disputes the Kagoshima District Court’s rejection of a local call for an injunction to stop the restart of the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Kyushu Electric Power Co. plant.

While the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing to restart reactors taken offline after the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns, many in the country remain opposed to such moves due to lingering safety concerns.

On April 22, the district court ruled that there were no “irrationalities” in Japan’s new safety standards adopted in the wake of the Fukushima crisis, and that, having cleared those standards, the Sendai plant is fit for operation.

Speaking at a press conference, lawyers representing the residents said many parts of the district court’s decision were logically unsound and that the plaintiffs hope for a new ruling before the reactors come back online.

Kyushu Electric hopes to resume operation at the plant by summer.