Anger at Fukui decision
The Supreme Court upheld Japan's approval of an experimental fast-breeder nuclear reactor this week, paving the way for the reopening of a plant that was shut down a decade ago by an accident and cover-up. The Monju reactor uses plutonium fuel instead of conventional uranium.
Environmentalists were outaged by the ruling, according to Asspciated Press. They say the reactor's plutonium-based technology is dangerous. Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action, a Kyoto-based environmental group, called the ruling "shocking."
"If there's an accident it could be disastrous," she said. "We haven't read the reasons for the court's decision yet, but it's astounding that the court could rule this way."
The nuclear energy industry in Japan, however, has been plagued by safety violations, reactor malfunctions and accidents. The Fukui region also was the scene of Japan's deadliest-ever accident, when a corroded cooling pipe - carrying boiling water and superheated steam - burst at a nuclear plant in Mihama in August 2004, killing five workers.
Environmentalists were outaged by the ruling, according to Asspciated Press. They say the reactor's plutonium-based technology is dangerous. Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action, a Kyoto-based environmental group, called the ruling "shocking."
"If there's an accident it could be disastrous," she said. "We haven't read the reasons for the court's decision yet, but it's astounding that the court could rule this way."
The nuclear energy industry in Japan, however, has been plagued by safety violations, reactor malfunctions and accidents. The Fukui region also was the scene of Japan's deadliest-ever accident, when a corroded cooling pipe - carrying boiling water and superheated steam - burst at a nuclear plant in Mihama in August 2004, killing five workers.
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