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HOME  > Past issues  > 2014 May 28 - June 3  > Residents file request for temporary injunction against restart of Sendai NPP
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2014 May 28 - June 3 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Residents file request for temporary injunction against restart of Sendai NPP

May 31 & June 2
Concerned Kyushu residents on May 30 applied to the Kagoshima District Court for a temporary injunction against the restart of Kyushu Electric Power Company’s Sendai nuclear power plant in Satsumasendai City in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The applicants are 23 residents of Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki prefectures who are also plaintiffs in a lawsuit opposing the restart of the plant.

In the injunction application, they claimed that the plant operator provided an overly optimistic evaluation of the plant’s anti-quake measures to the Nuclear Regulation Authority, which is currently examining the utility’s application for restarting the power station. The applicants demanded a court order to keep the plant offline until their trial is concluded.

* * *

“Don’t restart the Sendai NPP!”, “Decommission all reactors!” – Voices of 10,000 protesters resounded on June 1 near the Prime Minister’s Office and the Diet building.

The action was called for by an anti-nuclear power group organizing the weekly Friday night protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Office. In response to the call, on this day, protests against the Abe government’s attempt to restart offline reactors took place at various locations across Japan.

In Tokyo, in front of the main gate of the Diet building, Misao Redwolf on behalf of the organizer said, “Pro-nuclear power forces, such as the government and power companies, appear to be a huge unsalable castle. However, we have the power of numbers to pull it down.”

A representative of a civil group working to create a non-nuclear power society in Kagoshima said, “Active undersea volcanos are reportedly located in water areas near the Sendai nuclear power plant. No one knows when these volcanos could erupt and the resultant quakes and tsunamis could have a devastating impact on the power station.” He expressed his determination to block any attempt for a restart.

An 18-year-old participant said, “I used to be uncertain about how effective demonstrations would be. But, I realize that in order to make the government hear our voices, we have to stage demonstrations.”

Japanese Communist Party parliamentarians Kira Yoshiko and Kasai Akira also joined the action.
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