Hakodate suit against nearby plant

 April 3, 2014

City files for injunction against nuclear plant

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140403_37.html 

A city in northern Japan has filed for an injunction against the construction of a nuclear power plant in a nearby town.

Hakodate City on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido filed a suit with the Tokyo District Court against the central government and the Tokyo-based plant operator J-Power on Thursday.

Hakodate is demanding that the defendants halt ongoing construction of the plant in Oma Town, Aomori Prefecture, about 23 kilometers south of the city across the Tsugaru Strait.

Construction was suspended in the wake of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, but was resumed in October 2012.

J-Power plans to apply for safety checks required under the government's new safety guidelines as early as this fall. Hakodate City argues the safety of the plant cannot be secured under the new guidelines.

It said should an accident occur at the Oma nuclear plant, damage to the city would be so serious that it could no longer function.

The city noted that local governments within a 30-kilometer radius of a nuclear plant are required to evacuate residents in the event of a nuclear accident.

The city argued that the construction should be suspended until Hakodate, which is located within a 30-kilometer radius from the Oma plant, gives its consent.

The municipality would be the first in Japan to file against the building of a nuclear power plant.

Apr. 3, 2014 - Updated 10:07 UTC

Responses to Hakodate suit

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140403_43.html 

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said it won't comment on the suit as it hasn't read the content.

J-Power said it is regrettable that the city filed the suit, and that it will present its argument in court. The operator said it hopes to promote the construction plan by providing information to Hakodate City and taking steps to build a safe power plant.

Apr. 3, 2014 - Updated 10:08 UTC

Hokkaido city files lawsuit to stop nuclear plant construction in Aomori

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140403p2a00m0na014000c.html 

The Hakodate Municipal Government on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido filed a lawsuit on April 3 against the state and a utility firm to freeze construction of a nuclear power plant in neighboring Aomori Prefecture.

The lawsuit was filed with the Tokyo District Court. It is the first lawsuit by a local government seeking an injunction against a nuclear plant. The main focus of the lawsuit is on whether the court will grant the local municipality that does not host a nuclear power station but falls within a radius of 30 kilometers from a planned nuclear plant the right to approve or disapprove a plan to build a nuclear power station in its vicinity.

Electric Power Development Co., known as J-Power, started building a nuclear power plant in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, in May 2008 after receiving government approval. But the construction work was suspended in the wake of the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Although the then government led by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) decided "not to build new nuclear power plants," it approved the resumption of the construction of the power station in October 2012 on the grounds that the facility that had already been under construction would not fall into the category of new nuclear power plants to be built.

The Hakodate Municipal Government argues that regulation standards used in approving the construction of the Oma plant have flaws in light of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant and that the construction authorization is invalid accordingly. The local government also argues that no safety judgment under new regulation standards has been made for the Oma plant and therefore the Nuclear Regulation Authority should order a suspension of the construction of the nuclear facility. It also argues that the construction of the Oma plant should be suspended until the Hakodate Municipal Government agrees on the construction plan because municipalities within a radius of 30 kilometers from nuclear plants are required to draw up nuclear disaster prevention plans.

Hakodate Mayor Toshiki Kudo visited the Tokyo District Court on the afternoon of April 3 to go through procedures for filing the lawsuit.

April 03, 2014(Mainichi Japan)