Will Japan Restart Nuclear Power Yet Again Ignoring Danger of Earthquakes?

Osaka High Court Hands Down Verdict on Ohi Injunction Lawsuit Case,
Reneges on Judicial Responsibility —Rules In Favor of Kansai Electric

Japan—The Osaka High Court handed down a verdict today at 14:00 in favor of the defendant, Kansai Electric, in an appeals case brought by 253 citizens seeking an injunction to stop restart of the Ohi Units 3 and 4 nuclear reactors located along Wakasa Bay in Fukui Prefecture and owned and operated by the utility. Plaintiffs were from the central Japan Kansai region, Fukui, Wakayama, and Gifu prefectures.

The case was fought under the new post-Fukushima nuclear regulatory standards issued on 8 July 2013 by the newly established Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA).

The court, declaring the earlier Osaka District Court ruling (in favor of Kansai Electric, handed down 16 April, 2013) null and void, ruled that since the restart of Ohi Units 3 and 4 was not imminent, the case did not qualify as necessitating consideration of an injunction. It also stated that since the NRA was currently in the process of reviewing Kansai Electric’s application, the court would not rule on the issues addressed by plaintiffs. Many of these issues are common to all utility applications seeking restart.

Eight electric utilities have submitted a total of 17 applications for restart of reactors, i.e. the reactors are being examined to confirm whether or not they comply with the new post-Fukushima standards.

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Download: Osaka High Court Hands Down Verdict on Ohi Injunction Lawsuit Case

Today’s Japanese press release issued by the plaintiffs can be found at:
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/wordpress/index.php?p=698

Read more at Press Briefing: Osaka High Court Hands Down Verdict on Ohi Injunction Lawsuit Case

Related article: Japan court rules against nuclear restart in rare ruling via Reuters