Plaintiffs group protest against the top court ruling in favor of the reopening of Monju.

The ruling reversed the 2003 high court decision that nullified the government's 1983 approval to build the prototype fast-breeder reactor and supported the claim by 32 plaintiffs that a massive sodium coolant leak at the reactor in December 1995 resulted from shortcomings in the safety assessment of the facility prior to its construction.

Presiding Justice Tokuji Izumi said, "No unacceptable flaws or faults existed in the government's safety assessment to approve the construction. Therefore, the approval itself was not illegitimate."

The reactor, which went on line in August 1995, has been shut down since the accident.

No one was injured Dec. 8, 1995, when more than a ton of volatile liquid sodium leaked from a secondary cooling system at the reactor, and no radioactivity escaped. But Monju's operators came under fire for concealing video footage that showed extensive damage to the reactor and for submitting a falsified report.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 4, 2005
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