Japan orders shutdown of two nuclear reactors over safety fears

Yahoo – AFP, Harumi Ozawa, 9 March 2016

Kansai Electric's No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at its Takahama nuclear plant (AFP Photo)

A Japanese court Wednesday ordered the shutdown of two nuclear reactors previously declared safe under post-Fukushima safety rules, a decision that comes just days before the fifth anniversary of the atomic disaster.

The order will bring the number of operating reactors in Japan down to two. Dozens were shuttered in the wake of Fukushima, the world's worst nuclear accident in a generation

The ruling by the Otsu District Court -- the first to force the shutdown of reactors switched on under stricter safety rules adopted after the 2011 disaster -- is a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bid to bring back nuclear power.

The ruling ordered the shuttering of Kansai Electric's No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant, some 350 kilometres (215 miles) west of Tokyo.

The No.4 reactor was taken offline last month due to an unexpected technical glitch days after it restarted, while the No. 3 reactor is currently operating.

Kansai Electric said it would respect the "extremely regrettable" decision and shut down operations. But the utility firm said it would appeal.

"This court order is not something the company can accept," it said in a statement.

Map showing Japan's nuclear plants (AFP Photo)

Television footage showed plaintiffs and local residents cheering and holding banners after the ruling.

"I'm so happy and praise the court's courage," said one person celebrating outside the courthouse.

The bid to restart Japan's nuclear reactors has become entangled in a web of lawsuits amid fears about another Fukushima-style accident.

In December, another court sided with Kansai Electric by lifting a temporary injunction blocking the restart of the two reactors covered by Wednesday's ruling.

'Landmark victory'

The latest case was filed by residents in neighbouring Shiga prefecture who argued that the reactors posed a risk to Lake Biwa, a key water source for the region.

An accident similar to Fukushima would contaminate the lake, they argued.

"This is a landmark victory for people living in the shadow of shut-down reactors across Japan and a devastating blow against the nuclear industry and the policies of the Abe government," said Hisayo Takada, deputy programme director at Greenpeace Japan.

"It’s a clear message that nuclear power has no place in Japan’s energy future."

The decision comes about a week after three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima plant, were indicted on criminal negligence charges over the 2011 accident.

Japan has adopted stricter safety standards after the Fukushima nuclear 

disaster in 2011 (AFP Photo/Toru Hanai)

It will be the first criminal trial over responsibility for the tsunami-sparked reactor meltdowns that forced thousands from their homes in the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

Two reactors in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima, operated by Kyushu Electric Power, restarted last year, ending the two-year hiatus in nuclear power generation.

A pair of reactors were briefly switched on again after the accident but were then shuttered.

Anti-nuclear sentiment still runs high in Japan and there was widespread opposition to restarts.

Abe and utility companies have been pushing to get reactors back in operation, as the disaster forced Japan to turn to pricey fossil fuels to plug an energy gap left by the shutdowns.

Abe has argued that resuming nuclear power is key to Japan's energy policy, but memories of Fukushima are still fresh for many.

Japan's entire stable of reactors was shuttered in the aftermath of the disaster, when a huge undersea quake sent towering waves smashing into the coast, swamping the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and sparking reactor meltdowns.

Japan has since set up an independent atomic watchdog, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), replacing the previous arrangement where the industry ministry both oversaw the regulator and promoted nuclear power.

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"Fast-Tracking" - Feb 8, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Reference to Fukushima / H-bomb nuclear pollution and a warning about nuclear  (> 20 Min)

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”