International Symposium: “Energy Policy Shift and the Creation of Public Spheres: Learning From Germany’s Experience” (8 December 2013, Hosei University, Japan)

The Potential of Japan’s Anti-Nuclear Citizens’ Movement to End Nuclear Power and Implement Change in Japan’s Energy Policy
What Needs to be Undertaken to Meet this Challenge

Aileen Mioko Smith
Executive Director, Green Action

The Potential of Japan’s Anti-Nuclear Citizens’ Movement to End Nuclear Power and Implement Change in Japan’s Energy Policy
What Needs to be Undertaken to Meet this Challenge (Abstract and Full Text: PDF)

Japanese translation of the abstract:
日本の反原発市民運動が、原子力に止めを刺し国のエネルギー政策転換を実現させる可能性について-この課題を達成するために私たちが引き受けなければならないことは何か（要旨：日本語）

https://fs220.xbit.jp/n362/form2/

To:
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan
Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Shunichi Tanaka, Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA)

Urgent international petition calling for immediate action on the uncontrolled radioactive discharges at Tepco’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

• This is clearly not an appropriate time for Japan to restart nuclear plants or export nuclear technology
• The ocean, the source of life, must not be contaminated further

We hereby petition the Japanese national government and related entities to undertake the following commitments.

1. Clarify the Japanese government’s responsibility concerning the radioactive discharges into the ocean. Concentrate fully on dealing with this issue, and suspend all activity aimed at restarting nuclear plants in Japan and exporting nuclear power reactors to other countries. Japan’s new post-Fukushima regulatory standards do not take into account the possibility of uncontrolled radioactive releases into the ocean. Processing applications to restart nuclear plants in Japan under these conditions can result in additional uncontrolled releases and must be suspended.
2. Implement maximum efforts to prevent further contamination of the ocean. Install tanks for the storage of the contaminated water that are more robust and sustainable in order to prevent leakage. Deliberate discharge of the contents of the radioactive water in tanks into the ocean absolutely must not be permitted.
3. Bring together the combined wisdom of independent experts with no vested interests from within Japan and internationally (i.e. domestic and international independent expertise) and ensure its practical implementation.
4. Ensure transparency. Make all government meetings concerning this issue public, including the meetings of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Radioactive Contamination Discharges Countermeasures Committee. Immediately hold a public assessment of the proposed ice wall strategy.
5. Retract Prime Minister Abe’s following statements made at the International Olympic Commission (IOC): “The situation is under control.” “The effects of the [radioactive] discharges are completely blocked within the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s harbor.”

The deadline for this petition has been extended to 31 December 2013.

Signatures submitted to the Japanese government on 2 October came from 113 countries and totaled 10,394 (9,935 individuals and 459 organizations.)
Japanese signatures totaled 8,964 (8,799 individuals and 165 organizations.)

https://fs220.xbit.jp/n362/form2/

WE ALL SHARE OCEANS!
Please help stop the radioactive contamination of the Pacific

Hello, this is an urgent message from Japan.
It was revealed that, as the result of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant, 300 tons of radioactive waste water containing highly toxic substance such as cesium, strontium, tritium has been leaking in the sea every day.

It is of absolute necessity to prevent the discharge of this contaminated water.
The Japanese government says it will assign a prevention budget but it’s not until the next fiscal year. Plus the plan fails to stop groundwater from flowing into the power plant buildings and lacks fundamental preventative measures. If the present situation lingers, the contamination will continue to spread. Experts from nations throughout the world are needed to solve this problem.

Please, before the world’s beautiful oceans become contaminated,
please share this issue with people all over the world through Twitter,
Facebook, and other means.

Finally, please appeal to the Japanese government to stop this radioactive
contamination.
Send message here to the Japanese Government:
https://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment_ssl.html

Stop the contamination from Fukushima nuclear power plant!
Protect our oceans!

Japanese citizens and citizen’s groups
e-shift network

http://e-shift.org/?p=2752

*For Twitter:
Share&Action “WE ALL SHARE OCEANS! Please help stop the radioactive contamination of the Pacific” http://e-shift.org/?p=2752

*Related News Articles:
CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/06/world/asia/japan-fukushima/index.html?iref=allsearch
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/world/asia/leaks-into-pacific-persist-at-japan-nuclear-plant.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Reuter
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/08/us-japan-fukushima-pm-idUSBRE97601K20130808
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23602362
Le Monde
http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2013/08/07/fukushima-300-tonnes-d-eau-radioactive-chaque-jour-dans-l-ocean_3458485_3244.html?xtmc=fukushima&xtcr=2
National Geographics
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/08/130807-fukushima-radioactive-water-leak/

Radioactive Discharges into the Pacific from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Site

On 8 August, NGOs and Diet members held a meeting with the Japanese government concerning the radioactive discharges into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi site. The meeting was held in Tokyo at the Upper House Diet Office Building.

The government says it will assign a budget to deal with this problem, but it’s for the next fiscal year, plus, the countermeasures are grossly insufficient.

What was revealed at yesterday’s meeting….

IT’S UNCLEAR WHO’S IN CHARGE AND WHO’S RESPONSIBLE IN THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT:
It became evident that it’s unclear which government entity is responsible for and in charge of the radioactive water discharge into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. METI’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) and the NRA (Nuclear Regulation Authority) are the entities involved, but none of the ANRE and NRA bureaucrats knew who was in charge.

MOST OF NRA’s TIME IS SPENT ON RESTART OF NUCLEAR POWER IN JAPAN RATHER THAN DEALING WITH THE FUKUSHIMA ACCIDENT’S RADIOACTIVE DISCHARGES:
It became evident that the bulk of the time being spent by the Nuclear Regulation Authority/ Nuclear Regulatory Agency is for restarting Japanese nuclear power plants. Compared to that, the time spent on dealing with the Fukushima accident, particularly the problem of the radioactive discharges into the marine environment is minimal. Just for the Ohi Units 3 and 4 nuclear power plant review (Apri 19th through June 24th), the NRA undertook 14 hearings that were public (plus 94 meetings behind closed doors) whereas, depending on how it’s counted, only 2 to 6 hearings for the radioactive marine discharge issue. And, it’s while the Ohi hearings were ongoing that the unmonitored leaks were occurring.

THE GOVERNMENT WAS DEFICIENT IN TRACKING TEPCO’S MONITORING:
The government was not aware that Tepco was not issuing monitoring data for measuring levels of radiation of the underground water discharge into the marine environment at Fukushima Daiichi between December 2012 and May of 2013. When asked why they had not notice the lack of information, they could not answer.

ANRE’s MEETINGS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT
ANRE’s meeting are held behind closed doors. All 3 meetings held by the contaminated water countermeasures committee have been behind closed doors with business contractors.

GOVERNMENT SHOULD HAVE KNOWN GROUNDWATER QUANTITY / INADVISABILITY OF MEASURES TAKEN
Hundreds of tons of groundwater from the environment had to be dealt with daily at the Fukushima Daiichi site before 3.11. (This goes for other nuclear power plants also.) This of course did not change after 3.11. However, measures to take care of the groundwater properly were not undertaken. The government should have known that this would lead to problems. The government also should have known that the subsequent building of a seawall to address discharges into the marine environment would not solve the problem. In other words it would only lead to the water overflowing into the marine environment.

**IMPORTANT: EARTHQUAKE IMPLICATIONS
The source of the radioactive leaks has not been tracked down. It could very well mean the water is coming from cracks created in and along pipes, walls, equipment underground, cracks and breakage that occurred due to the earthquake. If this were the case, it means a generic assessment of the implication of earthquakes on equipment above and below ground must be undertaken for all plants in Japan. Right now the government considers the Fukushima Daiichi accident to have been caused as a result of the tsunami, not the earthquake motion preceding it. If the earthquake caused damage, it has significant implications for restart of nuclear power in Japan.

—
The meeting with the Japanese government was organized by Green Action, FoE Japan, Mihama-no-Kai, a network of Fukushima citizens, Fukuro-no-Kai, Greenpeace Japan, the Surfriders Foundation of Japan, etc. The government officials were from the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, METI’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Japanese URL for the 8 August materials including petition and list of questions to the government:
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/wordpress/index.php?p=663

U-stream of the meeting with the government:
(Starts at 40 minutes into the video)
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/37010339

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA)
Subverts Own Post-Fukushima Safety Rules
Allows Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 & 4 ‘s Continued Operation

For immediate release: 3 July 2013
Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith (Tel: +81-90-3620-9251)

Kyoto, Japan—-The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) today approved continued operation of Kansai Electric’s Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 located in Fukui Prefecture even though it is the first to admit the two plants do not meet new post-Fukushima regulatory standards. The standards will take effect Monday, 8 July.

“The NRA has taken the lead in ignoring compliance with its new nuclear regulatory rules which have been created to apply the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident, thus setting a dangerous precedent for ‘bending the rules’ and repeating the Fukushima accident,” stated Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of Green Action.

Under the new regulations, electric utilities cannot apply for a restart if any active fault investigation is being carried out on site. The Ohi Units 3 and 4 site is currently being investigated for an active earthquake fault. The Ohi units, therefore, do not pass even application requirements for restart under the new regulation. The NRA decision today will allow the units to operate until their September maintenance shutdown. The NRA says it did not review the on-site active earthquake fault issue at this time because “there wasn’t enough time to do it.”

As for tsunami requirements, the NRA committee members admit the Ohi units “do not meet the new standards.”

In recent years, new evidence has shown that two earthquake faults FoB and FoA running close to the plant may be connected to the nearby Kumagawa fault. Although the NRA stated the utility must look into what will happen if these three earthquake faults move in unison, its method of review was even less rigid than the pre-Fukushima accident method utilized by its predecessor to review the FoB/FoA joint movement.

The NRA also didn’t ask for the basis for the utility’s claim that the control rods which are used to stop the reactors in the event of an accident will insert within the required time. Its predecessor required this type of information. (Kansai Electric claims, without substantiation, that the control rods will insert faster with the longer earthquake fault movement.) Is the NRA really a better regulator than the one Japan had before the Fukushima disaster?

There are other serious problems with Ohi Units 3 and 4. The new regulations require plants to have in place a seismic-isolated building to cope with a severe accident, or an alternative if construction of the seismic-isolated building is not complete. Such a facility proved crucial during the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Ohi’s building will not be completed until 2015. The “alternative” approved by the NRA is a conference room adjoining the Ohi Units 1 and 2 control room. On 2１ June, the Nuclear Regulation Agency admitted that this Ohi conference room is not earthquake resistant. The NRA also assumes Ohi Units 1 and 2 will not be facing a crisis of their own in the event of such an earthquake and accident.

The Ohi Units 3 and 4 Review undertaken by the NRA was done mostly in secret with the utility, Kansai Electric. Although the public review meetings were U-streamed, the NRA and Nuclear Regulatory Agency also met with Kansai Electric 80 times behind closed doors. The substantive contents of these meetings remain secret. At the start of the Review, the NRA made strong statements, but as the Review progressed, it turned around completely to favor the utility. At the end the NRA’s main argument for allowing the units to operate was, “There will be no serious safety problem that will occur immediately.”

The NRA claims it will not make Ohi Units 3 and 4 an exception to the rule. With four Japanese utilities scheduled to apply for restart of a dozen plants on 8 July, the NRA’s approval of Ohi’s continued operation today, albeit until its September maintenance shutdown, does not bode well.

Download: Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) Subverts Own Post-Fukushima Safety Rules Allows Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 & 4 ‘s Continued Operation

MOX (mixed plutonium uranium) Fuel Shipment Arrives in Japan with No End-Use Determined

For immediate release: 27 June 2013
27 June 2013, Takahama Town, Fukui Prefecture, Japan—-A shipment of MOX (mixed plutonium and uranium oxide) fuel arrived at Kepco’s Takahama nuclear power plant today located in Fukui Prefecture facing the Japan Sea.

Today’s shipment violates the Japan Atomic Energy Commission’s determination, issued in 2003, requiring utilities to specify the end-use of MOX fuel before it is imported.

Kepco has not been given permission to restart its Takahama nuclear power plant. On top of that, the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has not even established post-Fukushima accident regulatory standards for MOX fuel and its use.

According to the IAEA, unirradiated MOX fuel is direct-use nuclear weapons material. This shipment adds yet another 900kg (approx.) to the already 960kg of unused plutonium in MOX fuel located at 5 nuclear power plants in Japan.

As of today, over 70 nations have opposed MOX fuel shipments and past shipments of separated plutonium. Japan, the UK, and France have neglected to undertake an environmental impact assessment on Japanese nuclear shipments. Furthermore, no compensation plan exists for damages in the event of an accident, and emergency planning is grossly inadequate.

Many Japanese prefectures are also on the shipment route. Citizens of local governments which face the Japan Sea have petitioned Kepco and the Japanese government for information on emergency planning and compensation for damages in the event of such an accident.

On 26 June, the Joint Action for Nuclear Free Korea composed of 78 groups including the nationwide Korean Federation of Environmental Movement (KFEM) issued a statement opposing the MOX shipment.

“”Crucial quality control data for the MOX fuel has not been released by the fabricator of the fuel, the French company Areva SA. Not even Kepco, its client, has been given details on the kind of impurities in the fuel and other important data that could affect the fuel safety. The French nuclear authority’s remit does not include checking the quality of foreign fuel. Therefore, only Areva is privy to that information” stated Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of Green Action.

———
References:
12, April 2013
Joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry regarding MOX fuel shipment to Japan
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/internal/130412_MOX_US_State_Letter.pdf
5 March 2013
Letters sent to countries potentially on the route of the MOX fuel shipment
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/internal/130305_Letter_en_route_MOX.pdf

Download: MOX (mixed plutonium uranium) Fuel Shipment Arrives in Japan with No End-Use Determined (PDF)

Japan’s Two Operating Reactors won’t meet New Post-Fukushima Standards
Will the Nuclear Regulation Authority Still Allow Them to Operate?

For immediate release: 19 June 2013
Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith

Kyoto, Japan—-The Nuclear Regulation Authority today approved new post-Fukushima regulatory standards. The standards will now be sent to the Cabinet for approval. They are scheduled to take effect on 8 July.

Will the NRA ignore compliance with its new standards from day one by allowing the two currently operating nuclear reactors in Japan, Ohi Units 3 and 4 to continue to operate, thus setting the precedent for further non-compliance?

At issue is whether Japan has learned the lessons of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident and whether Japan’s nuclear power will really be “the safest in the world” as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claims.

Japanese NGOs yesterday sent questions to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) through a House of Councillors Diet member demanding answers on whether the NRA intends to comply with its own new regulatory standards. The questions are to be answered by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency on Friday, 21 June. (See below for English translation of the questions and time/location of the meeting.)

The final results of the review on Ohi Units 3 and 4 concerning whether or not these two operating reactors will be allowed to operate after the new regulatory standards take effect will probably be announced at the weekly NRA meeting on Wednesday, 26 June. It has been reported that the NRA will approve the reactors’ continued operation until their scheduled outage in September.

—-
Questions Concerning Compliance of Ohi Units 3 and 4 to New Regulatory Standards

The following questions were submitted on 18 June to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) via the Mizuho Fukushima Diet office by four NGOs

To the Nuclear Regulation Authority:

1.Concerning the conference room located at Units 1 and 2 which is to serve as the earthquake-resistant control room for Ohi Units 3 and 4
The earthquake-resistant control room for Ohi Units 3 and 4 (maximum capacity 1000 persons) to be located on the south side of the intake outlet of the Ohi nuclear power plant site will only become operational in the autumn of 2015. In the meantime, Kansai Electric states that it will use a conference room located at the Unit 1 and 2 site.

（１）The conference room at the Unit 1 and 2 site which is to serve as the center for emergency operations in the event of an accident is located right next to Units 3 and 4. Isn’t this too close to be functional? Is it not correct that the earthquake-resistant control room should be located at some distance from the reactors?
（２）The conference room is approximately 105 square meters with capacity for 38 persons. The sole equipment to monitor the state of the Unit 3 and 4 reactors and other equipment under an emergency is one personal computer. Is this sufficient for full emergency response?
（３）The earthquake-resistant control room facility is to be completed around the autumn of 2015. Without such a facility in place, Ohi Units 3 and 4 do not meet the requirement under the new regulatory standard. Is that correct?

2.Concerning the Date of Sea-Wall (Tsunami Breakwater) Completion at Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Site
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has stated that completion of a sea-wall (tsunami breakwater) is a prerequisite for applying to restart nuclear power plants.
The breakwater for the Ohi site is not scheduled for completion until March 2014. This means the Ohi plant site does not meet the requirement to apply for restart under the new regulatory standard. Is that correct?

3.Concerning the Investigation of the Shattered Zone (Earthquake Fault) Under the Ohi Nuclear Power Plant
The Nuclear Regulation Authority( NRA) states that nuclear power plant sites currently undergoing investigation of their shattered zones (earthquake faults) are required to have their investigation completed (conclusion reached) before they can apply for permission to restart.
The Ohi F-6 shattered zone (earthquake fault) on-site investigation is still on-going and experts undertaking the investigation have not reached a conclusion. Because of this, is it correct that Ohi does not meet the new safety regulation?

4.Concerning Vent with Filter
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) states that for PWR’s, completion of a vent with filter is a prerequisite for applying for restarts.
The vent with filter at the Ohi plant will be completed in March of 2016. Because of this, Ohi does not meet the new regulatory standards. Is that correct?

5.Concerning Basic Earthquake Ground Motion
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has sought that Kansai Electric “establish a earthquake motion based on 3 earthquake faults interacting.” However, Kansai Electric continues to use as reference the basic earthquake ground motion based on 2 earthquake faults interacting and stated a 3-earthquake fault analysis was only “just in case.” The utility came out with a new (self-created) category called “earthquake ground motion for the purpose of the review.”

Since Kansai Electric refuses to meet the demand of the Nuclear Regulation Authority to establish a basic earthquake ground motion based on a 3-earthquake fault interaction, this means it does not meet the new regulatory standards. Is that correct?

6.The Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 & 4 do not meet the new regulatory standards, the NRA should therefore require them to be shut down
It cannot be said that the Ohi nuclear power plant meets the new regulatory standards when it does not even meet the demands made by the NRA as indicated above. Because of this, should not the NRA demand that the Ohi Nuclear Power Plant site immediately cease operations?

･･･････････････････････････････
The above questions were submitted by:
Green Action
Mihama-no-Kai
Lawsuit Group to Shut Down the Ohi Nuclear Power Plant
The Nuclear Regulation Authority Citizen Watchdog

For Japanese original of questions see:
http://greenaction-japan.org/internal/130618_question.pdf

Download: Japan’s Two Operating Reactors won’t meet New Post-Fukushima Standards
Will the Nuclear Regulation Authority Still Allow Them to Operate? (PDF)

Is Japan headed for another Fukushima?

Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority Capitulates to
Electric Utility on Earthquake Assessment

For immediate release
Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith +81-90-3620-9251

10 June 2013, Kyoto, Japan—-Today, Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), in a complete about-face, yielded to Kansai Electric, the second largest utility in Japan at an NRA hearing assessing whether or not the only two nuclear power plants operating in Japan today, Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 would be allowed to operate after new regulatory standards come into force 17 July.

NRA’s “Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Status Assessment Hearing” (Ohi Genpatsu no Genjo ni Kansuru Hyohka Kaigo) began on 19 April with the NRA requiring Kansai Electric to assess the earthquake motion that would occur at the Ohi plant when three earthquake fault lines located in close proximity to the plant would shift in unison, causing over 80 kilometers of earthquake fault to move. This signified that the plants would have to withstand a much more violent earthquake that they had been previously assessed to withstand with only two of the faults shifting in unison. The three-fault assessment was being demanded by the NRA based on the lessons learned from Fukushima where multiple faults moved in unison.

Today, however, the NRA made no objection when Kansai Electric blatantly ignored the NRA’s demands for a full three earthquake fault assessment, taking into consideration evidence that the earthquake would shift not only horizontally but vertically and placing the asperity* under the plant. Kansai Electric ignored all significant demands of the NRA, yet the NRA remained silent, behaving totally differently from its attitude in previous hearings. Instead, at the conclusion of today’s hearing, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency declared that tomorrow’s hearing will proceed with assessing the plant facility because “we are running out of time.” The assessment will no doubt be based on Kansai Electric’s preferred earthquake motion description as given by the utility today.

Six Japanese NGOs including “Green Action”, “Mihama-no-Kai” and the “The Nuclear Regulatory Authority Citizen Watchdog” issued a statement protesting today’s hearing. The statement (in Japanese) can be found at:
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/wordpress/index.php?p=653

Download: Is Japan headed for another Fukushima? Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority Capitulates to Electric Utility on Earthquake Assessment (PDF)

Japanese court rejects plaintiff demand to shut down Ohi Units 3 and 4

Plaintiffs will immediately appeal ruling

Court recognizes interaction of 3 earthquake faults near Ohi
but declares Ohi prima facie safe (safe for now unless proven otherwise)

Court states there is no legal time limit for shutting down reactors
in the event of an accident/earthquake

Press Release
For Immediate Release (Kyoto, Japan): 16 April 2013
Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith +81-90-3620-9251 (co-lead plaintiff)
For Japanese statement issued by plaintiffs’ group see:
http://greenaction-japan.org/internal/130416_statement.pdf

The judgment in the legal case against the only two nuclear power plants currently operating in Japan, Ohi Nuclear Power Station Units 3 and 4, owned and operated by Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (KEPCO), was handed down today by the Osaka District Court, rejecting the plaintiffs’ demand for a provisional disposition (injunction) to shut the plants down.

The legal judgment today is the first civil court ruling on nuclear power operation since the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

Ohi Units 3 and 4 are currently operating without new post-Fukushima standards in place.

There are three active earthquake faults in close proximity to the Ohi nuclear power plant site and numerous shattered zones (earthquake faults) directly under the site, one being suspected to be an active fault. An expert investigation is still in progress. Pre-Fukushima seismic safety standards do not allow for nuclear facilities above suspected active faults.

Plaintiffs have decided to immediately appeal the ruling.

The court, although recognizing the necessity to consider safety issues if the 3 earthquake faults very close to Ohi interconnect, declared the following:

There is no legal regulatory limit for shutting down reactors (regulation for control rod insertion time), and the 2.2 seconds specified in the licensing permit is only a value for the purpose of undertaking safety analyses.

Ohi is prima facie safe (safe until proven otherwise).

There is a high probability that the movement of the ground under Ohi where many earthquake faults exist was caused by a landslide and not an earthquake

“The court ruling is stating there is no legal requirement in Japan to meet the first golden rule of nuclear safety, the ability to shut down a reactor within the required time in the event of an accident/earthquake. This is not true. Ohi received its licensing permit on the premise that it met this shut down time limit. The Fukushima Daiichi accident would have been much worse if the reactors had not shut down properly on 11 March 2011. It’s a travesty that after Fukushima, a court would say that Ohi is prima facie safe until it’s proven otherwise,” stated Aileen Mioko Smith , executive director of Green Action and co-lead plaintiff of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which sought a provisional disposition to shut down Ohi Units 3 and 4, was filed in Osaka District Court on 12 March 2012 by 262 residents of Fukui, Gifu and six other prefectures in the Kansai region.

For more details on the lawsuit see:
Will Japan Repeat the Fukushima Disaster?
Lawsuit* Verdict This Week May Provide Answer
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/internal/130403_Press_Briefing_Ohi_Lawsuit.pdf

For technical details on the lawsuit see:
The points of issue in the legal case against Kansai Electric Power
Co., Inc. (KEPCO) by citizens seeking a provisional disposition
(injunction) to stop the operation of Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 & 4
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/internal/130405_stop_the_operation_of_Ohi_en.pdf

U-Stream at courthouse (16 April)
In Japanese:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/31531499

Joint letter signed by U.S., Japanese, and Korean NGOs urging the U.S. to suspend consent for the transport of over 900kg of plutonium through the East Sea/Japan Sea to Kansai Electric’s Takahama nuclear power plant. The shipment is MOX (plutonium uranium) fuel reported to be leaving Cherbourg, France the week of April 14th. Kansai Electric has stated it is as yet undetermined whether the fuel will be used.

April 12th 2013

Dear Secretary of State John Kerry:

cc: senior State Department staff, Senate Foreign Relations/House Foreign Affairs

We are writing to you to express our concern at plans by the United Kingdom, France and Japan to resume shipments of weapons-usable plutonium to Japan. The shipment has direct implications for the effectiveness of U.S. non-proliferation and security policies at a time when tensions in Northeast Asia are rising. Therefore we believe there is every need for U.S. consent for this shipment to be suspended.

We understand that during the week of April 14th a cargo of 20 plutonium Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies, manufactured in France by AREVA and containing in excess of 900 kilograms of weapons-usable plutonium, will be loaded on to one of the UK- flagged armed freighters Pacific Egret or Pacific Heron, in the port of Cherbourg, France. The shipment will then depart for the nuclear reactor port at Takahama in western Japan.

Our concerns over this shipment, the first since the devastating Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in March 2011, include the following:

• No demand for plutonium fuel in Japan , no possibility for its use now, utility admits it is undetermined whether or not the fuel to be transported will be used ;
• Japan continuing to acquire, stockpile and attempt to scale up its use of weapons-usable plutonium, including efforts to start-up and operate the Rokkasho reprocessing plant;
• A flawed U.S. policy of supporting Japan’s plutonium program which does not contribute to, but on the contrary distracts from stabilizing on-going non-proliferation efforts in East Asia;
• Japan’s program and its U.S. support undermining on-going U.S. Republic of Korea (ROK) Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (123) negotiations, including encouraging ROK to seek reprocessing and separated plutonium;
• The impact of the shipment on exacerbating further tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the East Sea/Sea of Japan, particularly in relation to the nuclear program of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK); and,
• Inadequate transport security plan, including for passage through the Korea Strait.

As the U.S. State Department and associated agencies review and sign off on the security plan for shipments of plutonium from Europe to Japan, we urge you to immediately undertake the following actions:

• conduct a new risk assessment on both the demand in Japan for such plutonium and the risks of shipping weapons-usable plutonium through the Korea Strait at this time;
• inform Japan and France that U.S. consent has been suspended pending an updated review;
• inform the U.S. Congress that the State Department is conducting a new risk assessment and that consent has been suspended; and finally,
• initiate a wide-ranging U.S. review of its policy concerning Japan’s reprocessing and plutonium-use program, which has resulted in Japan acquiring stocks of over 44,000 kg of weapons-usable plutonium with no practical peaceful use; and,
• no amendment to ROK-U.S 123 Agreement permitting development of reprocessing or enrichment program by the Republic of Korea.

Download:　Joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry regarding MOX fuel shipment to Japan