Nuclear Power Plant Reactivation in Japan-An Analysis of Administrative Discretion

Abstract

It has been seven years since March 11, 2011 in Fukushima, when the Great East Japan Earthquake took place. At that point, the Japanese government gave up nuclear power plants. However, now, it is planning to reactivate them. Some cases have come before the Court for review, seeking to know whether the permission granted to reactivate nuclear power plants is arbitrary and capricious, or not. The administrative agency establishes regulations via ministerial ordinances to achieve statutory goals. This paper examines issues pertaining to the grant of permission for the establishment of nuclear power plants and considers cases on the matter, because administrative discretion results in important developments in environmental law from a comparative law perspective. This paper examines the decisions of the Japanese Supreme Court on administrative discretion in Japan, US environmental law, and several cases concerning the establishment of nuclear power plants in Japan. It would be good to start by introducing the most recent case first, where the judiciary reviewed the reactivation of the nuclear power plant in 2017. Accordingly, this chapter looks at the decision of the High Court in the nuclear power plant case in 2017. The Osaka High Court rejected the request for a temporary injunction against the operation of a nuclear power plant that had been closed down after the Great East Japan Earthquake. A newspaper reported this case dramatically and shows the influence of this case on decisions of other inferior Courts.... ABSTRACT 1 1. NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CASE IN JAPAN 2 1.1. Nuclear power plant case in 2017 2 1. 2. Missile from North Korea 5 2. ADMINISTRATIVE DISCRETION IN JAPAN 6 2.1. Rule-making and lawmaking power in Japan 7 2.2. Definition of administrative discretion in Japan 10 2.3. Classic theories on administrative discretionary power in Japan 12 2.4. Article 30 of the Japanese Administrative Case Litigation Act 16 2.5. Judicial review of administrative discretion in Japan today 27 2.6. Purpose review 29 3. NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN JAPAN AFTER 2011 30 3.1. Government policy change after the Great East Japan Earthquake 31 3.2. Monju and Ikata decisions to reboot nuclear power plants 33 3.3. Comparison with the Chevron doctrine and Ikata again 36 CONCLUSION 43.

Keywords: Administrative Discretion, Nuclear Power Plant, Earthquake, Purpose Review, Japan, Supreme Court