TOKYO (Reuters) - A court in western Japan on Friday denied an injunction against Shikoku Electric Power Co's Ikata No. 3 nuclear reactor, the operator said, allowing the plant that restarted last August to continue operations.
The ruling by the Matsuyama District Court is in line with several other recent decisions after residents concerned about safety lodged injunctions against nuclear plants across Japan.
The decision will be a relief for Japan's nuclear operators who faced the risk of further delays in firing up mostly idled atomic generators after the 2011 Fukushima disaster if judges sided with local residents.
Shikoku Electric said the ruling was appropriate because the court acknowledged that the company has boosted safety at the reactor.
The Otsu District Court in March 2016 ordered Kansai Electric Power Co, Japan's second-biggest utility, to shut down reactors at the Takahama plant, in the country's first injunction to halt an operating nuclear plant.
The decision was overturned by a high court in March and two reactors at Takahama plant have since resumed operations.
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin)
