A settlement between Chugoku Electric and anti-nuclear protesters has raised the ire of activists and legal experts who claim the legal maneuver constitutes what's known as a SLAPP, or a strategic lawsuit against public participation.
SLAPPs are commonly filed in the United States as a way to intimidate protesters into silence.
In the suit, filed in December 2009, Chugoku Electric Power Co. demanded ¥39 million ($384,000) in compensation, saying four protesters blocked land reclamation work needed to build the Kaminoseki nuclear power plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture by using fishing boats and kayaks to demonstrate in waters at the construction site.