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Japan Court Rules Out Closing Chubu Nuclear
Plant

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JAPAN: October 29, 2007

TOKYO - Local residents seeking to force Chubu Electric
Power to shut nuclear reactors at a power plant in western Japan out
of fears that they would not withstand a powerful earthquake saw
their lawsuit dismissed on Friday.

The ruling by the district court in Shizuoka prefecture
comes amid growing concern about nuclear safety in the quake-prone
country after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in July forced Tokyo
Electric Power Co (TEPCO) to shut down the world's largest nuclear
power plant.

The court rejected the lawsuit because Chubu's safety standards
at the plant in Hamaoka were seen as sufficient based on scientific
evidence, Kyodo news agency said, but the 27 people who filed the
lawsuit in July 2003 have appealed the judgement.

"The safety measures set up by Chubu Electric to withstand the
standard tremor that would occur in the biggest earthquake are
appropriate," Kyodo quoted Presiding Judge Akira Miyaoka as saying.

Anti-nuclear activists criticised the ruling, saying it ignored
evidence provided by plaintiffs, taking for granted that the safety
checks by Chubu were fine.

"It essentially accepted that if the defendant's safety
assessment and safety checks were carried out in accordance with
government regulations, then all is well," the Citizens' Nuclear
Information Center said in a statement.

"This is a totally unjustifiable presumption ... The plaintiffs
and the local residents cannot conclude from this that the safety of
the Hamaoka nuclear power plant has been proved."

The court also dismissed a temporary injunction filed separately
by a group of 1,846 people in April 2002 to suspend the operation of
the reactors, Kyodo said. It said that group also appealed.

Residents living near the Hamaoka reactor and elsewhere had
demanded Chubu Electric close its No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 reactors, saying
that large amounts of radiation would be released from the plant if
a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the area.

Japan's third-largest utility had argued that scientific evidence
proved it was not possible for an earthquake of such scale to hit
the area and that it could ensure the plant's safety plant even if a
major earthquake did strike.

Chubu said in a statement it would ensure safety and increase
trustworthiness at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which
supervises the nuclear industry, said in a statement it would do its
best to gain the public's trust by setting rigid safety standards
for nuclear facilities.

It added it was not in a position to comment directly on the case
as it was a civil lawsuit.

The No. 1 and No. 2 units at Hamaoka are already closed and
scheduled to stay shut until March 2011 due to delays of upgrades of
quake-resistant systems and other repair work. The No. 4 unit has
been closed since Sept. 25 for regular maintenance, while the No. 5
reactor was not part of the lawsuit.

TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant -- the world's largest
-- has been closed indefinitely following the July 16 quake.

In 1854 a power earthquake of a magnitude of 8.4 hit the area.
Chubu said the plant is designed to withstand such a quake.

The world's largest recorded earthquake occurred in Chile on May
22, 1960. The magnitude measured 9.5 and triggered a tsunami that
swept across the Pacific Ocean, killing scores of people in Hawaii,
Japan and elsewhere.

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

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