
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the government's 1983 approval to build the Monju experimental fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, was valid, overturning a 2003 high court ruling that invalidated the approval. In handing down the landmark ruling which affects the future course of Japan's nuclear energy policy, Presiding Justice Tokuji Izumi said, ''No unacceptable flaws or faults existed in the (government's) safety assessment to approve the construction, and the approval itself was not illegitimate.''...more...