Suit filed to seek decommissioning of Hamaoka reactors
Jul. 1, 2011
A group of lawyers and residents of Shizuoka Prefecture filed a lawsuit Friday to seek decommissioning of the reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant, arguing it cannot be made safe as it sits on a tectonic fault line and is at great risk of being hit by a major earthquake with an accompanying tsunami and ground liquefaction.
The plaintiffs include Hajime Mikami, mayor of Kosai, Shizuoka, and Tsuyoshi Yoshiwara, head of the Johnan Shinkin Bank, a Tokyo-based credit union.
Their complaint filed with the Shizuoka District Court said Chubu Electric Power Co. should decommission the Nos. 3 to 5 reactors, which have been suspended since May at the request of the government to preclude the kind of disaster that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant after the May 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Hamaoka plant were deactivated in 2008 for decommissioning.
The plaintiffs also demanded the utility safely store spent fuel from the five reactors.
They had initially planned to seek an injunction to prevent the resumption of the three reactors, but they decided to demand their decommissioning on the grounds that it would be impossible to completely protect the Hamaoka plant from the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis.
Before filing the suit, Kosai Mayor Mikami, 66, said, ''I want to eliminate all risks to protect our children's lives and our community.''
He is the only municipal leader in Shizuoka Prefecture to seek denuclearization in the wake of the emergency at the nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
Some city assembly members have criticized him for joining the lawsuit as mayor, but Mikami said, ''My participation in the suit will lead the state and people in Japan to directly address the nuclear issue.''
(Distributed by Kyodo News on July 1, 2011)
The plaintiffs include Hajime Mikami, mayor of Kosai, Shizuoka, and Tsuyoshi Yoshiwara, head of the Johnan Shinkin Bank, a Tokyo-based credit union.
Their complaint filed with the Shizuoka District Court said Chubu Electric Power Co. should decommission the Nos. 3 to 5 reactors, which have been suspended since May at the request of the government to preclude the kind of disaster that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant after the May 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Hamaoka plant were deactivated in 2008 for decommissioning.
The plaintiffs also demanded the utility safely store spent fuel from the five reactors.
They had initially planned to seek an injunction to prevent the resumption of the three reactors, but they decided to demand their decommissioning on the grounds that it would be impossible to completely protect the Hamaoka plant from the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis.
Before filing the suit, Kosai Mayor Mikami, 66, said, ''I want to eliminate all risks to protect our children's lives and our community.''
He is the only municipal leader in Shizuoka Prefecture to seek denuclearization in the wake of the emergency at the nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
Some city assembly members have criticized him for joining the lawsuit as mayor, but Mikami said, ''My participation in the suit will lead the state and people in Japan to directly address the nuclear issue.''
(Distributed by Kyodo News on July 1, 2011)
