Court Blocks Japan's Nuclear Plans

A £4bn Japanese project to develop the world's most advanced nuclear reactor appeared doomed yesterday after a court ruled that the government's safety standards for the prototype plant were unacceptably flawed.

The judgment means that the Monju fast-breeder reactor may never be reopened, dealing another blow to a Japanese nuclear industry that has been plagued by accidents and cover-ups.

Designed to produce more fuel than it consumed, Monju was at the heart of Japan's ambition for a self-sufficient nuclear programme - a vital concern for a country with few natural energy resources.

Although the staggering costs and uncertain prospects of fast-breeder technology led many countries to abandon similar projects more than 10 years ago, Japan's bureaucrats refused to ditch a programme in which they had invested so much time, money and pride.

Even after the leak of a tonne of sodium coolant forced the closure of Monju in 1995, the government persisted in efforts to have the facility reopened. As recently as last month, it approved plans to renovate the plant, which is about 200 miles west of Tokyo.

Yesterday, however, the Nagoya high court stunned the administration by accepting a lawsuit brought by 32 local residents, who said the reactor was too dangerous to operate.

In a damning judgment that is likely to further undermine public confidence in nuclear regulators the judge, Kazuo Kawasaki, said the government's standards at the time of construction were too lax.

"Flaws exist in the safety assessments needed to prevent accidents such as leaks of radioactive material into the environment outside the plant," he said. "The threat cannot be discounted."

Bureaucrats from the trade and industry ministry are considering an appeal to the supreme court, but the government has acknowledged that the climate of opinion is hostile.

Japan uses nuclear power to produce 34% of its electricity, but the industry has steadily lost public confidence since the Monju leak seven years ago.

Memories are still fresh of the 1999 explosion at a reprocessing plant in Tokaimura - the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Soon after that, a plan to load reprocessed mixed-oxide fuel had to be delayed after revelations that British Nuclear Fuels had falsified safety data.

Last year, Tokyo Electric Power, the world's biggest private utility, had to close several of its reactors after admitting that it had been covering up cracks for years.

Yesterday's victory suggests that even the courts no longer accept the word of the authorities on nuclear power.

"Today marks the beginning of the end of Japan's fast-breeder programme," said Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action, an anti-nuclear group. "Monju would have to be rebuilt from the ground up if it were to meet the standards presented by the court today."