Court frustrates Tokyo’s nuclear plans

摘要

The Japanese government’s hopes for early reactor restarts have hit another setback after a local court ordered utility Kansai Electric Power not to restart two units at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture. The Fukui district court on 21 May ruled against allowing Kansai to operate the No 3 and 4 reactors,which each have 1,180MW of capacity.Operating the reactors could pose a direct risk to nearby residents,the court said,after concluding that the utility’s safety measures were insufficient.The court refused to consider Kansai’s argument that restarting the reactors would contribute to stable power supply and lower electricity prices,saying these considerations were secondary to safety.