Tokyo Court Upholds Acquittal For TEPCO Former Executives Over Fukushima Nuclear Crisis

TOKYO, Jan. 18 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jan, 2023 ) --:The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld an acquittal of three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) who were accused of failing to prevent the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The appeals court decision followed a Tokyo District Court ruling in 2019 that found former TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata and former vice presidents Ichiro Takekuro and Sakae Muto could not have anticipated a tsunami the size of the one that knocked out the key cooling functions at the Daiichi nuclear power plant and caused core meltdowns.

The ruling exonerated the three defendants from the accusation of professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries.

In 2013, public prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal charges against the three, but that decision was ultimately superseded by a committee for the inquest of prosecution made up of members of the general public who reviewed the case and called for indictments.