Japan court orders resumption of nuclear activity in Takahama plant

A high court in western Japan has cancelled an injunction by a lower court on the halt of nuclear activity in a pair of reactors, enabling the government to restart the facility and use the energy which was badly needed in the resource-poor, industrial country.

The Osaka High Court ruled in its Tuesday verdict that No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui prefecture, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) west of Tokyo, can be restarted.

The reactors were ordered to halt over safety concerns in March last year by the district court in Otsu city near Fukui. The Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO), the utility operating the reactors, then launched an appeal.

“Our company, while regarding safety as our priority, will seek to gain the understanding of Fukui prefecture as well as residents of host communities as we move toward restarting” the reactors, KEPCO said in a statement after the high court ruling was issued, reiterating that the initial injunction, which was initiated by residents of neighboring Shiga prefecture, “lacked rationality.”

The verdict could be a major victory for government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and its energy policy. Tokyo was forced to shut down all of its reactors following the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011. Abe has always called for the restart of the reactors, saying that Japan, which is world’s third-largest economy, badly needs the nuclear power to run its industry.

Only a handful of facilities have been restarted as Abe continues to face public anxiety over nuclear reactors. People demonstrated outside Osaka courthouse on Tuesday and condemned the ruling for restart of Takahama reactors. They said judges in the high court failed to consider the wishes of those living near the reactors. Banners were unfurled reading “Unjust ruling that ignores national, regional public opinion,” and “Judicial negligence that ignores wishes of residents”.