Safety Culture in the News

Safety Culture in the News

Japan court revokes permits at 2 reactors over quake safety

Japan court revokes permits at 2 reactors over quake safety

TOKYO — A Japanese court on Friday revoked the operating permits of two nuclear reactors for having inadequate earthquake safeguards, a ruling that challenges safety assessments conducted by the nuclear regulator and could influence the outcome of other court cases. The Osaka District Court revoked the permits of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui in western Japan. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority had approved the restart of the two Ohi reactors, run by Kansai Electric Power Co., in 2017 and granted them operating permits. Nuclear safety standards were tightened and reactors were reexamined after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, which highlighted what investigators termed lax oversight and a lack of a safety culture. In its ruling, the court upheld demands by about 130 plaintiffs that the two reactors be shut down because of insufficient resistance to major earthquakes.