Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions Regarding Safety Regulations for Nuclear Power Plants in Japan Following the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

As a result of law reform in the regulation of the safety of nuclear power plants following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the safety measures taken by nuclear power plants against risks from natural phenomena, such as tidal waves, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, have been strengthened considerably. When the reasonableness and adequacy of these strengthened measures is contested at trial, the reviewing court, in exercising its judicial power, should no longer assume that the basic concept of defense in depth should apply in the case of nuclear accidents caused by natural phenomena as it does in the case of accidents caused by the failure of equipment, ageing facilities, and the like. Similarly, when the reasonableness and adequacy of the safety measures against the risk of accidents due to the failure of equipment, ageing facilities, and such is contested at trial, the reviewing court should exercise its judicial power by revoking the license of the nuclear power plant previously granted by the administrative agency and ordering the agency to implement the licensing procedure once again, in accordance with the judgment, in case the court finds significant failures in the administrative procedure of licensing. In such cases, the court need not determine whether the failures would actually cause a nuclear disaster or not