Former bosses of the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been ordered to pay 13 trillion yen ($93.4 billion) for failing to prevent a disaster. TEPCO bosses are being sued by shareholders over a meltdown triggered by the 2011 tsunami. The court ruled that if the executives had been careful enough, they could have avoided the accident. Tepco apologized but declined to comment on the lawsuit. "The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which is controlled by TEPCO, has caused a huge burden and deep concern to local residents and society as a whole, and we deeply apologize for this," a statement said.Their lawyers believe it is the largest compensation ever awarded in a civil lawsuit in Japan. They acknowledged that the 13 trillion yen was "far beyond" the former boss's ability to pay, but the plaintiffs hoped the men would pay as much as their assets would allow. "An accident at a nuclear power plant can cause irreversible damage to human life and the environment," said Yui Kimura, one of the plaintiffs. “The corporate executives who run these factories also have huge responsibilities that no other company can match,” he said. "I think the court's decision shows that anyone who doesn't have the will or ability to take on this responsibility should not be an executive." The Fukushima nuclear accident occurred on March 11, 2011, when a large earthquake in the northeastern region of Japan triggered a tsunami that caused the meltdown of a nuclear reactor. It was the worst nuclear power accident since the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine in 1986, but was considered less harmful to local residents because the release of radioactive iodine was much lower.
No one died in this nuclear accident, but the long-term effects of radiation remain a matter of debate. TEPCO shareholders say the 2011 disaster could have been avoided if bosses had listened to the findings and had taken preventive measures, such as installing emergency power supplies on higher ground. The court ruled that nuclear power plant operators "have an obligation to prevent serious accidents based on the latest scientific and engineering expertise," while executives failed to heed credible warnings.
The compensation from the former bosses will be used to pay TEPCO to dismantle the reactor, compensate the affected residents and clean up the pollution. The civil lawsuit was filed by shareholders in 2012. The court's decision said the case was based on "the most comprehensive evidentiary examination of the causes of the Fukushima nuclear accident." "If the defendants are willing to reflect on the devastating damage the nuclear accident has done to many residents, they should deeply apologize to the residents and abide by this ruling without appealing," the judgment said. Separately, the Tokyo District Court ruled in a 2019 criminal trial that three Tepco executives were not guilty of professional negligence, arguing that they could not have foreseen the tsunami at the time. The case has been appealed and the Tokyo High Court is expected to rule next year.
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