On September 27, 2017, 124 citizens in Sendai instituted a lawsuit against the Sendai Power Station seeking an injunction to the operation of the power plant. The plaintiffs argued that the operation of the Sendai Power Station violated (i) their personal rights to life, health, and bodily integrity (Jinkaku-ken) due to the health damage caused by the emission of environmental pollutants, (ii) their personal rights to life, health, and bodily integrity due to climate change, and (iii) the right to maintain biodiversity due to the emission of hazardous substances. Firstly, the plaintiffs argued that the emissions of pollutants, such as SOx and NOx, caused significant health damage by increasing the risks of various illnesses. Secondly, the plaintiffs argued that their personal rights were violated as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would worsen climate change, which causes extreme events, such as heat waves and heavy rains. To support this argument, they stated that the current use of coal-fired power plants was incompatible with the GHG emissions reduction targets in Japan and was also an obstacle to the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement. Thirdly, the plaintiffs claimed that environmental rights, including the right to maintain biodiversity, should be recognized based on Article 13 of the Constitution. 

Those three arguments are later modified to the tort claims based on the right to a peaceful life, which they claimed was violated by environmental pollution, personal rights concerning life and bodily integrity, which they claimed were violated by climate change, and the right to maintain biodiversity. During the proceedings, the right to maintain biodiversity was excluded from the points of dispute by the parties based on the Court’s determination that the right to maintain biodiversity is not recognized under Japanese civil law. Similarly, the plaintiffs indicated in the 10th preparatory document that they withdrew their claim based on the personal rights to life and bodily integrity, and thus, the second argument related to climate change was removed from the points of dispute.

On October 28, 2020, the Sendai District Court delivered a judgment, which solely discussed the right to a peaceful life focusing on environmental pollution. The Court rejected the plaintiffs’ claim by saying that neither the nature nor the level of environmental pollution was serious and that the evidence provided by the plaintiffs lacked objectivity and credibility. The court did not rule on GHG emissions because they were part of the second argument, which were modified before the ruling. The Court further mentioned that the business operator had social accountability to do its best to relieve the citizens’ concerns about environmental pollution.

On December 22, 2020, one citizen filed an appeal. In the statement of appeal, the appellant claimed that the district court has made 5 errors. Firstly, he claimed that the court misinterpreted the initial complaint by equating the mental distress with the threat to life and bodily integrity, which was claimed by the plaintiffs. Secondly, he claimed that the court had misunderstood the scientific concepts and terms and thus failed to recognize the risks based on the scientific evidence. Thirdly, he claimed that the court should still have considered the issues of global warming and GHG emissions either as factors to counteract the public necessity of the power plant or as aggravating factors of the tort even if the violation of the plaintiffs’ rights by global warming was not discussed since the CO2 emission by the power plant was against the generally accepted idea in the modern society and national carbon neutral policies. Fourthly, he claimed that the court misinterpreted the expert’s opinion concerning the concentration of PM 2.5 and thus failed to recognize the health risks. Lastly, he claimed that the court ignored the precedents and academic theories related to personal rights and air pollution. He argued that there was no public necessity for a new power plant and the protection of personal rights should be prioritized.

On April 27, 2021, Sendai High Court issued a judgment on the appeal. The parties did not dispute that the power plant could cause the emission of air pollutants. Thus, the issue discussed was whether the threat of damage to the appellant’s life and bodily integrity by the health impact due to the exposure to the air pollutants could be recognized as a violation of personal rights (either the physical rights or the right to a peaceful life) leading to the illegality of the operation of the power plant. The court ruled that while it could not deny that there was abstract danger, there was no sufficient evidence to recognize concrete danger to the appellant’s health. The amounts of emissions of PM 2.5 and NOx are within the normal range and the amounts of other pollutants, including mercury, were all lower than the environmental standards. The court believes that there is no indication that air pollution has worsened after the power plant started operating. As for the public necessity, the presence of surplus at one moment does not mean that there was no public necessity for the power plant since power demand and supply are easily influenced by various circumstances. Moreover, considering the current energy policy, usability and public nature of the power plant concerned cannot be denied while there is discussion and governmental policies to prevent global warming, such as ‘2050 Carbon-Neutral’. Further, the court adds that no concrete danger to global warming nor biodiversity is recognizable. The court rejected the appeal and supported the first instance judgment. The court cannot find concrete danger, which exceeds the socially acceptable upper limits, to health when considering the nature and level of damage, the social usability, public nature, and preventive measures. 

Sendai Citizens v. Sendai Power Station

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Sendai Citizens v. Sendai Power Station - complaint

Filed

Japan

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A company that is owned wholly or partially by the state, typically operating in key sectors.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience of societies and the economy to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Hot temperature extremes are daily maximum temperatures  that were exceeded on average once in a decade or once in 50 years, and includes heatwaves.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Sendai Citizens v. Sendai Power Station - complaint

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance