A Japanese court issued an injunction to halt two of the four nuclear reactors restarted by the country’s utilities, backing local residents who were worried about a repeat of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Wall St Journal 9th March 2016 read more »
A Japanese court has ordered the closure of two nuclear reactors previously declared safe under strict post-Fukushima safety rules. The order, made just days before the fifth anniversary of the atomic disaster, would bring the number of operating reactors in Japan down to two. Dozens were shut in the wake of Fukushima, the worst nuclear accident in a generation. The ruling by the Otsu district court – the first to force the shutdown of reactors switched on under stricter safety rules adopted after the 2011 disaster – is a blow to plans by the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to bring back nuclear power. The reactors to be closed are Kansai Electric’s No 3 and No 4 reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant, about 215 miles (350km) west of Tokyo. The No 4 reactor was taken offline last month due to an unexpected technical glitch days after it restarted, while the No 3 reactor is currently operating.
Guardian 9th March 2016 read more »
The court ruling on Wednesday added a new twist to the legal battles over nuclear power. Judges have enjoined idled plants from being put back into service, but the judgment against Takahama was the first in which a facility that had successfully been restarted was ordered to shut down.
New York Times 9th March 2016 read more »
BBC 9th March 2016 read more »