The Otsu District Court on Thursday rejected a demand by Shiga residents to halt the restart of nuclear reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama and Oi plants.
The decision clashes with a ruling made by another district court in May that disallowed the restart of two reactors at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture. Kansai Electric is appealing that ruling.
In Thursday's ruling, residents of Shiga argued that the many geological faults in the vicinity could cause stronger earthquakes and tsunami than currently anticipated.