Japan's Top Court Rules Gov't Not Liable For Fukushima Disaster

TOKYO, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Jun, 2022 ) :Japan's top court on Friday ruled that the government was not responsible for the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant in 2011 and need not pay damages to the near 4,000 people whose lives were adversely affected by the crisis.

The ruling by Japan's Supreme Court means that the operator of the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO), is solely responsible for the 1.4 billion Yen (10.5 million U.S. Dollars) in damages covering four lawsuits and around 3,700 plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs include people who were forced by the disaster to flee their homes in Fukushima and three other prefectures, or those whose lives were severely damaged by the disaster.

The suits were focused on whether the utility and the government could have predicted that a massive tsunami could have hit the nuclear plant in 2011 and taken proactive measures to prevent the disaster based on the government's long-term assessment of seismic activities.

Presiding Justice Kanno Hiroyuki of the Supreme Court's Second Petty Bench ruled the earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 that triggered a massive tsunami that knocked out the plant's cooling system was more powerful than the government could have expected.

He also said the size of the tsunami that ensued as a result of the massive quake could not have been foreseen and that had the government ordered TEPCO to have taken necessary measures against such an event, the plant would still have been inundated.

The Supreme Court had earlier finalized rulings finding TEPCO liable and ordering it to pay compensation to the plaintiffs.

As for the government being absolved of responsibility, the result was met with protests on the streets outside the courthouse, with one lawyer for the plaintiffs claiming the decision was unacceptable and the government should accept its responsibility for the crisis.

Angry protesting plaintiffs and others outside the court house carried banners and also demanded the government be held liable for the disaster. The ruling being the first of its kind will likely affect the outcome of similar filings nationwide.