Japanese court orders damages in nuke disaster

TOKYO — A Japanese court on Wednesday found the government and the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant negligent for failing to take measures to prevent the 2011 nuclear disaster, ordering them to pay one billion yen (about $12.6 million Cdn) in damages to thousands of residents for their lost livelihoods.

The Sendai High Court found fault with the government in the meltdowns of three reactors, saying the regulatory agency could have predicted a major tsunami way before the disaster, according to lawyers representing more than 3,600 plaintiffs.

The ruling was a major victory for the plaintiffs and could set a precedent for similar lawsuits pending across the country, according to the plaintiffs’ head lawyer, Izutaro Managi. So far, 13 lower court decisions have been divided over government responsibility in the disaster.

The court ordered the government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to pay damages to the plaintiffs, doubling the amount that a lower court had ordered TEPCO to pay.

“We ask the government to extend relief measures as soon as possible, not only for the plaintiffs but for all victims based on the damage they suffered,” Managi said.

The earlier ruling also said a tsunami risk was foreseeable and the disaster could have been avoided if the government had ordered the company to take proper preventative measures.

The high court said Wednesday that regulators at the government’s now-defunct Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency should have foreseen a tsunami as high as 15.7 metres based on an experts’ assessment in 2002.

The court said both the government and TEPCO neglected to conduct a risk assessment or take safety steps.