Court In Japan Keeps Ikata NPP Operational Despite Residents' Safety Concerns - Reports

A court in Japan has once again dismissed the request of the Japanese citizens to disable the third reactor of the Ikata nuclear power plant (NPP) situated in the country's western prefecture of Ehime, local media reported on Thursday.

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2018) A court in Japan has once again dismissed the request of the Japanese citizens to disable the third reactor of the Ikata nuclear power plant (NPP) situated in the country's western prefecture of Ehime, local media reported on Thursday.

The Supreme Court of the city of Takamatsu has ruled that the rector, whose operation was resumed in early November after the maintenance works, did not pose any threats and met the safety standards, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

The operation of the Ikata NPP along with other nuclear power stations in the country was suspended following the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi NPP.

After the plant was put back into operation in 2016, the local residents launched a campaign to prohibit the reactor's operation. In December 2017, a court in Hiroshima granted the claim and ruled not to launch the reactor until September 30 over threat of Aso volcano eruption, which is located in 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the NPP.

Shikoku Electric Power, the NPP's operator, then appealed the ruling in the Hiroshima court, which was allowed. The court reversed the initial judgment, saying that the volcano eruption threat was not obvious for the NPP and that there was no concrete evidence proving that the eruption might occur during the NPP's work.