92 F. KOPPENBORG
Critical Public Opinion and Lawsuits Challenging Safety Assessments
One of the NRA’s goals was to regain public trust in Japan’s nuclear
safety administration by conducting independent and neutral safety investigations in a transparent manner. Looking at a recent public opinion poll
about whether idled nuclear power plants should be restarted, a majority
of 56% opposed, while 32% of respondents were in favour (Asahi Shinbun
2019a). Thus, many citizens still had reservations about operating nuclear
power plants in Japan. Whether citizens trust the NRA’s safety assessment
can be inferred from the extent to which they challenge NRA decisions.
With efforts picking up to restart nuclear power plants, several lawsuits
were brought before courts all over Japan. Court cases reflect the plaintiff’s safety-related concerns and, as such, their stance on whether NRA
safety checks were sufficiently strict and trustworthy.
¯
Oi nuclear plant was the first where reactors were set for restarts.
They were also the first to face legal action. The plaintiffs, a group of
almost 200 people from the plant’s host prefecture Fukui as well as from
Tokyo and other prefectures, contended that the basic earthquake ground
motion figures used as the basis for the reactor’s anti-seismic design
were insufficient. The court’s ruling echoed that stance and granted
the injunction (The Japan Times 2014a). Ultimately, the injunction was
overruled.
In April 2015, the Fukui District Court under judge Higuchi Hideaki
ordered an injunction against bringing the reactors numbers 3 and 4 of
the Takahama nuclear plant in the Fukui Prefecture back online. The decision came following a group of citizens seeking an injunction after the
reactors numbers 3 and 4 cleared the NRA safety review and received
green light for a restart. In the ruling, Judge Higuchi criticised the data
the operator KEPCO used for the earthquake simulation as unreliable and
thus not suitable to show the plant’s earthquake resilience. The verdict,
furthermore, criticised the NRA safety standards as “not strict enough”
(The Japan Times 2015; The Tokyo Shinbun 2015a). Ultimately, the
injunction was overruled.
After only a few days in operation, the two reactors at Takahama
nuclear power plant had to be shut down again following an injunction
ordered by the ¯
Otsu District Court in March 2016. This court is located
in the adjoining Shiga Prefecture, where a group of almost thirty citizens
sought an injunction. The ¯
Otsu court ruled that KEPCO failed to fulfil its
obligation to provide information on safety and evacuation-related issues
Critical Public Opinion and Lawsuits Challenging Safety Assessments
One of the NRA’s goals was to regain public trust in Japan’s nuclear
safety administration by conducting independent and neutral safety investigations in a transparent manner. Looking at a recent public opinion poll
about whether idled nuclear power plants should be restarted, a majority
of 56% opposed, while 32% of respondents were in favour (Asahi Shinbun
2019a). Thus, many citizens still had reservations about operating nuclear
power plants in Japan. Whether citizens trust the NRA’s safety assessment
can be inferred from the extent to which they challenge NRA decisions.
With efforts picking up to restart nuclear power plants, several lawsuits
were brought before courts all over Japan. Court cases reflect the plaintiff’s safety-related concerns and, as such, their stance on whether NRA
safety checks were sufficiently strict and trustworthy.
¯
Oi nuclear plant was the first where reactors were set for restarts.
They were also the first to face legal action. The plaintiffs, a group of
almost 200 people from the plant’s host prefecture Fukui as well as from
Tokyo and other prefectures, contended that the basic earthquake ground
motion figures used as the basis for the reactor’s anti-seismic design
were insufficient. The court’s ruling echoed that stance and granted
the injunction (The Japan Times 2014a). Ultimately, the injunction was
overruled.
In April 2015, the Fukui District Court under judge Higuchi Hideaki
ordered an injunction against bringing the reactors numbers 3 and 4 of
the Takahama nuclear plant in the Fukui Prefecture back online. The decision came following a group of citizens seeking an injunction after the
reactors numbers 3 and 4 cleared the NRA safety review and received
green light for a restart. In the ruling, Judge Higuchi criticised the data
the operator KEPCO used for the earthquake simulation as unreliable and
thus not suitable to show the plant’s earthquake resilience. The verdict,
furthermore, criticised the NRA safety standards as “not strict enough”
(The Japan Times 2015; The Tokyo Shinbun 2015a). Ultimately, the
injunction was overruled.
After only a few days in operation, the two reactors at Takahama
nuclear power plant had to be shut down again following an injunction
ordered by the ¯
Otsu District Court in March 2016. This court is located
in the adjoining Shiga Prefecture, where a group of almost thirty citizens
sought an injunction. The ¯
Otsu court ruled that KEPCO failed to fulfil its
obligation to provide information on safety and evacuation-related issues