- Title: Tokyo court orders ex-Tepco execs to pay $95 bln damages over Fukushima disaster
- Date: 17th June 2022
- Summary: FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR PLANT, FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN (FILE - MARCH 1, 2021) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI REACTOR 3 BROKEN PILLAR OF REACTOR 3 EXTERIOR OF FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI REACTOR 1 DEBRIS OF REACTOR 1 VARIOUS OF WORKERS WEARING PROTECTIVE GEAR WORKING IN FRONT OF REACTOR BUILDING SIGN READING (English): "58.2 uSV/h" TANKS HOLDING CONTAMINATED AND TREATE
- Embargoed: 1st July 2022 08:14
- Keywords: Fukushima Daiichi Japan contaminated water damage disaster earthquake lawsuit nuclear tanks tsunami water storage
- Location: FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN
- City: FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA009010601011970RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:The Tokyo district court on Wednesday (July 13) ordered four former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) 9501.T to pay 13 trillion yen ($95 billion) in damages to the operator of the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, national broadcaster NHK reported.
The ruling, in a civil case brought by Tepco shareholders, marks the first time a court has found former executives responsible for the nuclear disaster, local media reports said.
The court judged that the executives could have prevented the disaster if they had exercised due care, the reports said. A Tepco spokesperson declined to comment on the ruling.
The ruling marks a departure from a criminal trial ruling in 2019, where the Tokyo district court found three Tepco executives not guilty of professional negligence, judging that they could not have foreseen the huge tsunami that struck the nuclear power plant. The criminal case has been appealed and the Tokyo high court is expected to rule on the case next year.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power disaster, triggered by a tsunami that hit the east coast of Japan in March 2011, was one of the world's worst and generated massive clean-up, compensation and decommissioning costs for Tepco.
The civil lawsuit, brought by Tepco shareholders in 2012, demanded that five former Tepco executives pay the beleaguered company 22 trillion yen in compensation for ignoring warnings of a possible tsunami.
(Production: Akiko Okamoto) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None