A district court in Hokkaido has handed down a well-reasoned, fair-minded ruling saying a nuclear power plant should not be operated by an entity that cannot offer a convincing explanation about the safety of the plant.

The Sapporo District Court on May 31 ordered that the three reactors at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari nuclear power plant remain offline, delivering a blow to the utility’s plan to restart them.

The court ruled that the plant does not meet the safety standards concerning the risk of tsunami. It pointed out that evidence submitted by the power company is not enough to rule out the possibility that the ground under the sea wall surrounding the complex could subside or liquefy.

The ruling argued this alone is enough to support the presumption that the safety of local residents could be threatened by the plant if it is reactivated, denying the necessity of considering other issues raised in the trial, such as whether there is an active fault near the facility.

Hokkaido Electric’s claims concerning the measures to protect the plant against possible tsunami showed inconsistencies during the trial, raising serious doubt about their credibility.

The company repeatedly changed its estimations of the maximum possible height of tsunami that could strike the plant.

When the risk of liquefaction was pointed out by the government’s nuclear watchdog, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, which has been working for nine years to determine if the plant meets the new safety regulations, the firm said it would build a new sea wall on solid ground.

Four years on, however, nothing specific about the new sea wall, except for its height, is clear.

The lawsuit was filed in November 2011, following the catastrophic accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March that year.

The district court made the right decision when it handed down a ruling based on the evidence that has been submitted so far, cutting short the trial that had been prolonged by the utility’s endless efforts to prove its case.

There can never be a proper and swift trial on this kind of case concerning the safety of a nuclear plant unless the operator, which has access to a massive body of related data, acts in a sincere and responsible manner. All nuclear plant operators should learn from the ruling that they are not allowed to delay the judicial process for their own convenience.

The court is not alone in criticizing Hokkaido Electric’s irresponsibility and inconsistency.

The NRA has taken the firm to task several times since it applied for the watchdog’s green light for restarting the reactors in the summer of 2013 as the utility has repeatedly changed its explanations about the safety measures and failed to submit proper materials for the safety screening.

This spring, NRA Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa again gave the utility a slap on the wrist.

“We have been pointing out (to the company) a lack of employees who can engage in expert discussions about earthquakes, tsunami and volcanoes, but several years have passed without any adequate response (from the company),” he said.

Some critics say the NRA has been too rigorous and cautious in assessing the safety of nuclear reactors. But they are grossly wrong.

In its ruling on a different case concerning the safety of a nuclear plant, the Supreme Court stressed the importance of the regulator’s strict safety screening for ensuring that a nuclear disaster will never occur again.

Government policymakers and other people concerned should carefully read the district court ruling while remembering the lessons from the Fukushima meltdowns.

Hokkaido Electric said it will appeal the ruling immediately. But it should first do some serious soul-searching over its actions with regard to the trial during the past 10 or so years.

It has not behaved in a way befitting the operator of a nuclear plant, which is under the obligation to put safety before anything else and fulfill its responsibility for accountability.

In addition, the company should take this opportunity to rethink its strategy for investing its resources as a major public utility company in Hokkaido. The main northern island is blessed with many areas suitable for power generation using such renewable energy sources as solar and wind power.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 2