Japanese High Court orders suspension of a nuclear reactor in western Japan

The Hiroshima High Court ordered the suspension of a nuclear reactor at the Ikata power plant in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, Xinhua news agency reported.

The high court revoked a lower court decision in the first such resolution on injunctions filed with other local courts looking to halt the No. 3 reactor at the Ikata power plant.

The plant, currently offline for a regular safety inspection, restarted operation in August 2016.

Plaintiffs accused the plant’s operator, Shikoku Electric Power Co., of underestimating the potential damage that could occur to the plant if the reactor was hit by a natural disaster, such as a sizable earthquake or volcano.

According to the plaintiffs, the reactor in question lies above the epicentre of a predicted mega-quake that may strike along the Nankai Trough near a fault line in the future.