日本地方法官叫停重啓核反應堆

TOKYO — Fukui prefecture, with 13 commercial nuclear reactors clustered along the short, rugged coastline, has earned the area a reputation as a political stronghold for the atomic power industry. Nuclear-friendly politicians dominate most of Fukui's government offices, and the region is nicknamed Genpatsu Ginza, or Nuclear Alley.

東京——福井縣的海岸線不長且崎嶇起伏，卻密集分佈着13座商業核反應堆，這爲該地區贏得了原子能行業的政治要塞的名聲。親核政客在福井的大部分政府機構佔據着主導地位，該地區有個綽號叫“核電銀座”(Genpatsu Ginza)。

Fukui has now emerged as a battleground for the Japanese government's effort to rebuild the nuclear industry and reverse the economic impact of the reactor shutdowns. On Tuesday, a local judge blocked the latest attempt to get atomic power back on the grid, issuing an injunction to forbid the restarting of two nuclear reactors at the Takahama power plant in the region.

福井現在成了一個戰場，日本政府在這裏發起重建核工業、扭轉核反應堆關閉的經濟影響的行動。週二，當地一名法官下令禁止重啓該地區高浜發電站的兩座核反應堆，叫停了恢復用原子能發電的最新嘗試。

The nuclear industry has been in a state of paralysis since the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant four years ago. None of the 48 usable reactors in Japan are back online.

自四年前福島第一核電站出現堆芯熔融以來，日本核工業一直處於癱瘓狀態。日本的48座可用反應堆中，沒有一座恢復運行。

Business groups say that delays in returning at least some plants to service are wrecking their bottom line. The price of electricity has increased by 20 percent or more, reflecting the cost of importing more oil and natural gas to make up for the lost nuclear power. That translates to the equivalent of several tens of billions of dollars a year in added expenses for households and companies, according to government estimates.

商業團體稱，原本至少恢復部分發電站的計劃被推遲，給它們的利潤構成了極大影響。電價上漲了20%或以上，這是爲彌補失去核電而增加石油及天然氣的進口量帶來的成本。據政府估計，這相當於居民和企業一年的開支增加幾百億美元。

It is a potential stumbling block for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to rekindle economic growth, which have focused on increasing corporate profits and consumer spending. Because of the increased use of fossil fuels, Japan's carbon emissions have also risen in the four years since the country began taking its reactors offline.

對日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)重振經濟增長的計劃而言，這是一個潛在的絆腳石。安倍晉三的努力集中在增加公司利潤和消費支出上。在日本開始停止運行反應堆後的四年裏，因爲化石燃料使用量增加，日本的碳排放也增加了。

The decline in oil prices, which have fallen about 50 percent since June, has taken some of the pressure off the economy. But the government nonetheless sees a revival of nuclear power as critical to supporting growth and slowing an exodus of Japanese industry to lower-cost countries.

自6月以來，油價已下跌約50%，減輕了經濟的部分壓力。但政府還是認爲恢復核電對支持增長，減緩日本工業中的大量業務向低成本國家轉移至關重要。

The Kansai Electric Power Co., which owns the plant at the heart of the ruling issued Tuesday, serves a swath of western Japan that includes the metropolis of Osaka. The area served is also home to industrial giants like Panasonic.

週二發佈的裁決涉及的發電站爲關西電力公司(Kansai Electric Power Co.)所有。該公司的服務範圍是日本西部的一個帶狀區域，包括大都市大阪。松下(Panasonic)等工業巨頭均位於其中。

Yoshihide Suga, the chief Cabinet secretary for Abe, questioned the scientific rationale for the Fukui court's decision and said it would not alter the government's support for nuclear power.

安倍晉三的內閣官房長官菅義偉(Yoshihide Suga)對福井法院判決的科學依據提出了質疑，稱其不會改變政府對核電的支持。

“The reactors have been judged by experts to meet the new safety standards,” said Suga, referring to a review by the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan that was completed late last year. The agency determined that the Takahama reactors met tougher guidelines introduced after the Fukushima disaster.

“專家已評定那些反應堆達到了新的安全標準，”菅義偉指的是日本原子能管制委員會(Nuclear Regulation Authority)去年年底結束的一次檢查。該委員會斷定，高浜發電站的反應堆滿足福島核事故後採用的更嚴格的規定。

“We will respect that judgment, and there is no change to our policy of moving ahead with restarts,” Suga said.

“我們將尊重這一判定結果，同時我們推進重啓的政策不會改變，”菅義偉說。

Kansai Electric had intended the reactors in Fukui to be among the first in the country to be returned to service after the introduction of the new rules more than two years ago. But in his ruling Tuesday, the judge, Hideaki Higuchi, challenged the adequacy of the standards, which cover things like plants' resistance to earthquakes and tsunamis, the triggers for the Fukushima disaster.

兩年多前新規引入後，關西電力公司本想讓福井的反應堆成爲全國首批恢復運行的反應堆。但在週二的判決中，法官樋口英明(Hideaki Higuchi)質疑相關標準是否完備。這些標準包括髮電站抵抗地震和海嘯的能力等。引發福島核事故的正是地震和海嘯。

“There is little rational basis for saying that an earthquake with a magnitude that exceeds the safety standard will not occur,” said Higuchi, 62. “It is an optimistic view.”

“說不會發生震級超過安全標準的地震，是沒有理性依據的，”62歲的樋口英明說。“這是一種樂觀的看法。”

The reactors had been widely expected to return to service by the end of the year. While Kansai Electric said it would appeal, experts said its plans could be delayed by months or even years.

外界普遍預計，相關反應堆將在今年年底之前恢復運行。關西電力公司稱將上訴，但專家表示，該公司的計劃可能會被推遲數月乃至數年。

It was the second time Higuchi had issued an order forbidding a nuclear plant in Fukui to operate, and he remains the only judge in Japan to have ruled against a utility over nuclear restarts since Fukushima.

這是樋口英明第二次下令禁止福井的核電站運行。他也是日本自福島事故以來，唯一一名在重啓核設施方面，對公用事業單位做出了不利判決的法官。