Hakodate's lawsuit against planned nuclear plant

March 27, 2014

Hakodate to sue over planned nuclear plant in northern Aomori

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140327p2a00m0na003000c.html 

HAKODATE, Hokkaido -- The city assembly here voted unanimously on March 26 to seek an injunction to halt construction of the Oma Nuclear Power Plant in Oma, Aomori Prefecture -- the first such move against a nuclear plant.

Officials plan to take legal action against the national government and J-POWER, the plant's prospective owner, on April 3. At its closest point, the plant would lie just 23 kilometers from Hakodate's borders. The municipal government complains that the city would be greatly affected should an accident occur at the plant.

Hakodate Mayor Toshiki Kudo said the unanimous vote for legal action was reassuring.

"In court, we'd like to raise the question of whether it is appropriate to construct the Oma Nuclear Power Plant without giving us an explanatory briefing or obtaining our consent," he said.

Two of the Hakodate Municipal Assembly's 30 members sat out the vote, protesting that energy policies should be the domain of the national government, and that if the city were to lose the suit it would give legitimacy to the plant's construction.

A representative from J-POWER's PR department said, "We will refrain from commenting on the lawsuit, but we will continue to explain to the Hakodate Municipal Government, as we have been, that we will take the necessary safety precautions."

Oma Mayor Mitsuharu Kanazawa refrained from commenting on the Hakodate Municipal Assembly's move.

J-POWER plans to apply this fall for a safety evaluation of the Oma plant under new nuclear power plant regulatory standards.

March 27, 2014(Mainichi Japan)

 March 26, 2014

 Hakodate assembly OKs lawsuit against nuclear plant

Kyodo

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/26/national/hakodate-assembly-oks-lawsuit-against-nuclear-plant/#.UzQCT4XrV1s 

HAKODATE, HOKKAIDO – The municipal assembly of Hakodate in Hokkaido on Wednesday approved a plan to sue the central government and an electric utility to stop construction of a nuclear power plant in neighboring Aomori Prefecture.

The assembly plans to file the lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court as early as April 3 in what will be the first nuclear power-related lawsuit against the central government by a local government.

Located at the southern tip of Hokkaido, Hakodate is only 23 km across the Tsugaru Strait from the Oma plant, which Electric Power Development Co., better known as J-Power, started building in May 2008.

“In the event of an accident, Hakodate’s core industries of fishery and tourism would suffer devastating damage,” Mayor Toshiki Kudo said after the assembly unanimously approved the suit.

Construction of the 1,383-megawatt plant was suspended in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 but was resumed in October 2012.

J-Power plans to apply to the Nuclear Regulation Authority for safety assessment of the plant as early as this autumn. The plant will house an advanced boiling water reactor using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, which contains plutonium extracted from spent fuel.

March 26, 2014

City to file for injunction of new nuclear plant

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140326_34.html 

A city in northern Japan has decided to file for an injunction against the building of a nuclear power plant.

The municipal assembly of Hakodate City on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido made the decision on Wednesday.

Its members unanimously approved a bill to allow the city authority to use tax money to stop construction of the Oma nuclear plant in Aomori Prefecture. The facility is being built 23 kilometers south of the city, across the Tsugaru Strait.

The defendants in the injunction suit would be the central government and the plant's Tokyo-based operator, J-Power.

Hakodate plans to bring the suit to the Tokyo District Court next Thursday. The municipality would be the first in Japan to file against the building of a nuclear plant.

The construction was halted in the wake of the 2011 tsunami and earthquake disaster. J-Power resumed the work in 2012 and plans to apply for a safety inspection as early as this fall to launch the plant.

Hakodate authorities say the plant could severely damage the city in the event of a nuclear accident.

Mayor Toshiki Kudo thanked the assembly members, saying he respects their courage and action.

Mar. 26, 2014 - Updated 10:26 UTC