15 Mar (NucNet): A Japanese district court rejected today a plea from local residents to suspend operation of the Ikata-3 nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture, southern Japan, local media reported.
The decision by a branch of the Yamaguchi District Court is in line with past rulings by other regional courts and allows the continued operation of Ikata-3, the Mainichi daily said.
The 846-MW Ikata-3 pressurised water reactor resumed commercial operation in September 2016 after owner and operator Shikoku Electric Power Company completed all regulatory safety checks.
Ikata-3 was at the time the fifth reactor in Japan to have restarted commercial operation following the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear station which resulted in the shutdown of Japan’s reactor fleet.
In November 2018, the Takamatsu High Court rejected calls from local residents to suspend operation of Ikata-3, upholding a lower court decision from July the previous year.
The Takamatsu High Court said at the time that the reactor unit poses no danger because it meets stricter safety standards introduced after the Fukushima-Daiichi accident.
According to the Mainichi, concerns about the operation of Ikata-3 have remained among locals, leading them to turn to the courts in search of an injunction.
