Tokyo--A Japanese court on Tuesday issued a landmark injunction against the restarting of two atomic reactors, after the country's nuclear watchdog had given the green light to switch them back on.
The district court in the central prefecture of Fukui made the temporary order in response to a bid by local residents to halt the restart of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Takahama nuclear power plant, a court official said.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) last December approved the restarting of the reactors, saying they met tougher safety standards introduced after Japan's tsunami-sparked nuclear disaster at Fukushima in 2011.
But "the safety of the reactors hasn't been secured", the court ruled, saying the watchdog's new standards were "lacking rationality", according to public broadcaster NHK.
The reactors could be damaged by an earthquake even smaller than that envisaged in the safety standards, the court said.
Plant operator Kansai Electric Power slammed the injunction as "extremely regrettable and utterly unacceptable" and said it would appeal against the decision.
A lawyer representing the plaintiffs called the ruling a "perfect victory".
"This is the best decision that we could have expected," he told supporters outside the courthouse.
Two other reactors at Takahama also remain offline.
Greenpeace hailed the court decision, saying it "could have a nationwide ripple effect on similar pending injunction cases -- threatening to derail the Japanese government's nuclear reactor plans".
A separate court ruling on the restart of two other reactors in southern Japan is expected later this month.
AFP
