The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday ordered four former Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) executives to pay 13 trillion yen ($95 billion) in damages to the operator of the destroyed Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. , said the lawyers.
The decision, in a civil suit brought by Tepco shareholders, marks the first time a court has held former executives responsible for the nuclear disaster, according to local media reports.
The court ruled that the executives could have avoided the disaster if they had exercised due care.
“An accident with a nuclear power plant causes irreversible damage to both human life and the environment. The executives of the companies that operate these plants also have a huge responsibility over them, unmatched by other companies,” said Yui Kimura, a member of the complainant.
“I think the court’s judgment says that anyone who doesn’t have the determination or ability to take on that responsibility should not become an executive,” Kimura said at a news conference following the ruling.
Public broadcaster NHK quoted an unnamed lawyer representing the former executives as saying the lawyer would not comment until he had a closer look at the verdict.
A Tepco spokesperson also declined to comment on the decision.
“We understand that a decision on the matter has been rendered today, but we will refrain from answering questions about individual court cases,” the spokesperson said.
The ruling marks a departure from a 2019 criminal trial decision where the Tokyo district court found three Tepco executives not guilty of professional negligence, ruling they could not have foreseen the massive tsunami that hit the nuclear 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 Japan’s east coast in March 2011, was one of the worst in the world and generated huge cleanup, compensation and decommissioning costs for Tepco.
The civil suit, filed by Tepco shareholders in 2012, required five former Tepco executives to pay the beleaguered company 22 trillion yen in compensation for ignoring warnings of a possible tsunami.
Source: CNN Brasil
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