It was widely reported January 17 that the High Court in Hiroshima, Japan revoked a lower court’s decision and ordered Shikoku Electric Power Co. (EPC) to suspend Unit 3 of the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture. In its decision, the High Court determined that the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s (NRA) proposed rules and Shikoku EPC’s risk estimates regarding a potential eruption of the Mt. Aso volcano were inadequate. “Research on the active fault is insufficient and the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s judgment that it is not a problem is incorrect,” said Presiding Judge Kazutake Mori. “(Shikoku Electric) needs to also take into account less than catastrophic eruptions at the caldera of Mt. Aso.”
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