Japanese Court Declines Request to Halt Ikata NPP Activities in Country's West

The Hiroshima District Court on Thursday declined the request of local residents demanding to halt the activities of the Ikata nuclear power plant (NPP) in the country's western Ehime Prefecture, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A group of four people living in vicinity of the NPP requested an injunction, saying that if a major earthquake struck the area it could trigger a dangerous accident at the plant. The NPP's operator rejected the concerns of the residents, citing the safety measures taken at the facility.

According to the NHK broadcaster, the judge at the court said that there was no evidence that the Ikata NPP had not met the safety requirements of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), and, subsequently the residents did not face any dangers that could be linked to the NPP's operations.

Japan is located in a seismically active area in the Pacific Ocean and is affected by numerous tremors every year. In 2011, an earthquake triggered a tsunami and hit the Fukushima NPP, leading to the radioactive contamination of nearby territories.

After the Fukushima disaster, all of Japan's NPPs were either closed or their operations suspended. However, the country has been restoring NPP usage after certain safety inspections have been completed. In August 2016, the Ikata reactor was restarted following safety tests conducted by the NRA.