Judge Rules Against Restarting 2 Nuclear Reactors in Japan
By JONATHAN SOBLE

TOKYO — The 13 commercial nuclear reactors clustered along the short, rugged coastline of Fukui Prefecture in Japan have earned the area a reputation as a political stronghold for the atomic power industry.

Nuclear-friendly politicians dominate most of Fukui’s government offices, and some of the area’s reactors continued to operate for a time after the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant four years ago, even as others elsewhere shut down because of safety concerns. The region is nicknamed Genpatsu Ginza, or Nuclear Alley.

Currently, none of the 48 usable reactors in Japan are producing power. Japan’s carbon emissions have risen as a result, and business groups say delays in returning some plants to service are hurting the economy.

The price of electricity has increased by 20 percent or more, reflecting the cost of importing more oil and natural gas. That translates to the equivalent of several tens of billions of dollars a year in added expenses for households and companies.

Now, a local judge has made Fukui an unexpected focus of antinuclear activism and turned the prefecture into a battleground for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, which is seeking to rebuild the nuclear industry and reverse the economic impact of the reactor shutdowns.

On Tuesday, the judge, Hideaki Higuchi, issued an injunction forbidding the restart of two nuclear reactors at the Takahama plant in Fukui. The plant’s owner, Kansai Electric Power Company, had intended them to be among the first in the country to be returned to service after the introduction of post-Fukushima safety standards two years ago.

The reactors had been widely expected to return to service by the end of the year. Kansai Electric said it would appeal, but experts said its plans could be delayed by months or even years.

Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, questioned the scientific rationale for the decision and said it would not alter the government’s support for nuclear power. The decline in oil prices since last year has taken some of the pressure off the economy, but the government nonetheless sees a revival of nuclear power as critical to supporting growth and slowing an exodus of Japanese industry to lower-cost countries.

“The reactors have been judged by experts to meet the new safety standards,” Mr. Suga said, referring to a review by the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan. “We will respect that judgment, and there is no change to our policy of moving ahead with restarts.”

It was the second time that Judge Higuchi had issued an order forbidding a nuclear plant in Fukui to operate, and he remains the only judge in Japan to have ruled against a utility in a nuclear-restart case since Fukushima. He became a hero among antinuclear activists in May last year when he ruled that two reactors at another Kansai Electric facility, the Oi nuclear plant, must remain switched off because the utility had not shown that they could be operated safely.

禁核電重啟 安倍核電振經濟多變數

日本關西電力公司獲准重啟兩座反應爐，但反核團體要求法院對此事發出禁制令；福井地方法院14日樋口英明審判長，發出立即禁止核電廠運轉的處分令；這是日本司法機關首次禁止核電廠運行。

日本自2011年福島核災以來徐徐走上恢復核能發電之路，本案及其纏訟可能使這重返核電之路更加多變，甚至行不通；日本首相安倍晉三支持核能發電以振興日本經濟之圖，也可能因此大受衝擊。

一個法官小組14日下午1時裁決，立即禁止關西電力公司高濱反應爐重啟案；這兩座反應爐坐落東京西邊。

主審法官樋口秀明在日本高度保守的司法體系裡特立獨行，去年5月曾對關西電力公司另一座核能廠重啟案下達禁制令時，曾嚴厲批評日本核能工業的風險管理。

日本核子監管單位已初步核發高濱兩座反應爐的安全許可，除非接到禁制令，否則兩座反應爐可能在今年稍後重啟；接著全案可能陷入經年累月的纏訟，因為關西電力預料一定會上訴，而上訴曠日廢時。

高濱案的禁制結果，不但案中兩座反應爐受影響，福島核災以來全部停擺的日本43具反應爐也可能繼續無限期停擺。

福島核災後，關西電力公司改用化石燃料發電，該公司預估年損13億3000萬美元(台幣412億元)。

關西電力公司本月將電費提高14%。而且關西電力供電的是日本第二大經濟區，區內有Panasonic與Sharp等重要公司的總部。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/business/energy-environment/judge-rules-against-restarting-2-nuclear-reactors-in-japan.html

2015-04-14．聯合晚報．A1．要聞．編譯彭淮棟