information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
22 Avril 2015
April 22, 2015
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201504220075
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
KAGOSHIMA--A court here on April 22 rejected a request by local residents to halt the restarts of two reactors at the Sendai nuclear power plant, saying new, stricter safety standards are "not unreasonable.”
Twelve plaintiffs plan to immediately appeal the Kagoshima District Court's ruling to the Fukuoka High Court. Kyushu Electric Power Co. is seeking to resume operation of its No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the facility in Satsuma-Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Twenty-three residents from Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures originally filed the suit, 11 of whom later left the group.
The rejection follows an injunction issued April 14 by the Fukui District Court in a separate case that put on hold Kansai Electric Power Co.’s plans to restart reactors at its Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture. The court there called the new safety requirements inadequate.
The updated safety measures were introduced after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The key issue argued by the plaintiffs was whether the largest possible seismic movement generated by an earthquake planned for the Sendai plant in a worst-case scenario is sufficient.
The suit noted that five earthquakes have exceeded the maximum expected levels at four nuclear power plants since 2005. It claimed that Kyushu Electric, which set the maximum quake level at 620 gals, has underestimated the size of tremors that could strike the Sendai plant, endangering the lives of people living near the facility.
A gal is a unit of acceleration used to measure the extent of seismic waves produced by earthquakes.
However, Presiding Judge Ikumasa Maeda said the new restrictions were created after taking into account “regional differences,” and rejected the request for an injunction.
The plaintiffs argued there is also a danger that a pyroclastic flow of ejecta and gas generated by a catastrophic volcanic eruption in Kyushu could reach the Sendai plant. They said there is no way to rule out the possibility because there is no technology in place to predict such an event.
Maeda dismissed the idea, noting that most volcanologists have not said risks have increased for such large-scale eruptions.
Last September, the Nuclear Regulation Authority ruled that the Sendai facility complied with its updated requirements, the first such decision in the country since the March 2011 disaster.
Kyushu Electric, which has since won consent from local governments and assemblies for the restart, plans to resume operations at the plant’s No. 1 reactor in early July.
Kyodo, Reuters
KAGOSHIMA – The Kagoshima District Court on Wednesday dismissed an injunction to block the restart of two more nuclear reactors in the prefecture, brushing aside the concerns of local residents worried about the safety of the plant.
The decision clears another hurdle for reactors at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant to begin starting up as early as June, as the government pushes to revive Japan’s idled nuclear industry four years after the disaster in Fukushima began.
The ruling stands in sharp contrast to last week’s decision by the Fukui District Court to block the restart of reactors at the Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture over safety concerns.
The Kagoshima District Court found no “irrationalities” in new safety standards adopted after the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns, ruling in favor of the plant operator.
The Kyushu Electric Power Co. plans to fire up one of the reactors in July, a watershed moment for the nation as it would be the first reactor restart under the revised rules.
The court’s decision could inject momentum into the government’s policy to restart nuclear power plants that have passed the safety standards, although the public remains divided on the matter.
Plaintiffs, including residents near the Sendai plant, are expected to appeal the ruling, their lawyers said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the top government spokesman, said there will be no change in the government’s policy of bringing the Sendai nuclear power plant back online. All 48 of Japan’s commercial reactors remain offline amid heightened public concerns about safety following the triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No.1 plant.
Four years after a quake and tsunami wrecked that facility, prompting mass evacuations, the Sendai reactors operated by Kyushu Electric have cleared most of the regulatory hurdles and could begin starting up as early as June.
The focus of the court case was on whether the operator of the Sendai plant has adequate measures in place to guard against earthquakes and whether it had weighed the chance of a volcano erupting nearby. The effectiveness of existing evacuation plans for local residents was also called into question.
Presiding Judge Ikumasa Maeda ruled that the new safety standards were crafted based on consultations among experts.
“There are no irrationalities,” he said.
The judge also said the operator calculated the biggest possible earthquake motion after taking into account “uncertainties” over natural phenomena, and thus the decision to restart the power plant was legitimate.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to reboot reactors to help reduce high energy costs, but opponents are using the courts to block the revival of nuclear power, which is widely unpopular, especially in areas where they can’t get local governors or mayors to prevent a restart.
Kansai Electric has four of its 11 reactors under injunction and recently announced plans to decommission two units.
Tepco, which is dealing with the Fukushima No. 1 debacle, is tussling with local authorities to get another power station up and running — Kashiwazaki Kariwa, the world’s biggest. It sits on the Sea of Japan coast in Niigata Prefecture.
Chubu Electric Power Co.was forced to shut its Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture because of its proximity to offshore tectonic plates and is facing legal action.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150422_19.html
Apr. 22, 2015 - Updated 05:55 UTC+2
A Japanese court has dismissed a request to block the restart of 2 nuclear reactors in southwestern Japan.
A group of citizens had sought an injunction to keep the Number 1 and 2 reactors at a nuclear plant in Satsuma-Sendai City in Kagoshima Prefecture offline.
The 12 citizens from Kagoshima and 2 neighboring prefectures argued that earthquakes and large volcano eruptions could cause serious damage to the reactors.
The plant's operator, Kyushu Electric Power Company, argued that the 2 reactors are strong enough to withstand earthquakes. The utility also said chances of a huge volcano eruption are slim.
The utility is aiming to restart the 2 reactors in July as it has already obtained approval from the governments of Kagoshima and Satsuma-Sendai City. They would be the first to restart among the 48 reactors that are offline in Japan. The reactors cleared screenings by the Nuclear Regulation Authority in September, becoming the first under the country's new, strict requirements.
In a ruling on Wednesday, presiding judge Ikumasa Maeda at the Kagoshima District Court said that in light of up-to-date scientific knowledge, there is nothing irrational found in the new requirements that should keep the reactors offline. He said the same about the regulators' judgment to restart the reactors.
Last week, the Fukui District Court issued an injunction blocking the restart of 2 reactors at the nuclear plant in Takahama, calling the regulator's new requirements “too lax to ensure safety".
After Wednesday's ruling, a lawyer for the citizens accused the court of accepting Kyushu Electric's argument and called the ruling unfair. He said they will continue efforts to stop the restart of the reactors.
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