Japan’s top court okays Monju nuclear reactor

TOKYO - Japan's Supreme Court yesterday gave the green light for the government to re-open the Monju experimental nuclear reactor, 10 years after a massive leak of sodium coolant forced the closure of the plant.

The prototype fast-breeder reactor is seen by many in the government as a cornerstone of Japan's future energy policy, but is opposed by some local residents, who had obtained a lower court ruling in 2003 blocking the re-starting of the reactor.

Japan's highest court on Monday overturned that ruling, a court spokesman said.

Concerns about the safety of nuclear power, which provides more than a third of resource-poor Japan's electricity output, have grown in recent years due to a series of accidents and scandals over poor maintenance.

Fast-breeder reactors, a concept under development since the 1960s, are designed to produce more nuclear fuel than they consume. However, many countries have abandoned their fast-breeder programmes because of the technical difficulties involved.

- REUTERS