Japan court bars Hokkaido reactors from operating

A Sapporo District Court has ruled that the three Tomari reactors, fully offline since 2012 in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, cannot restart. The ruling sides with an anti-nuclear citizen’s group.

The court said the reactors were not safe to operate because of earthquake and tsunami concerns, but rejected the group’s bid for permanent decommissioning.

Only a handful of nuclear reactors in Japan have reopened since safety concerns stemming from Fukushima shuttered them. Hokkaido Electric Power Company says it will appeal the ruling.

Photo credit: Mugu-shisai, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons