Latest news with #TEPCO
Asahi Shimbun
2 days ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Tokyo court ruling raises bar on tsunami foresight
Plaintiffs in a TEPCO-related lawsuit head to the Tokyo High Court in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on June 6. (Masaaki Kobayashi) Two diametrically opposed court rulings have been handed down concerning accountability for the 2011 nuclear disaster. How did this come about? In 2022, the Tokyo District Court ordered former executives of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. to pay the company about 13 trillion yen ($92.6 billion) in compensation for the accident in Fukushima Prefecture. But a Tokyo High Court decision on June 6 denied they were liable and rescinded the decision. The conflicting court decisions are due to differing perceptions of 'duty' required of executives of nuclear power plant operators to safeguard their facilities. The lower court's ruling found that the TEPCO management proved grossly negligent through its failure to take all possible measures for 'just in case' scenarios. It noted that a long-term assessment of earthquake forecasts released by the central government in 2002 was made by top-level researchers and, therefore, scientifically reliable. In the absence of special circumstances, 'tsunami countermeasures based on this knowledge were obligatory,' the court added. In a 636-page decision, it gave a detailed explanation for holding TEPCO's management responsible. Based on the 2002 long-term assessment, it said TEPCO could have foreseen a huge tsunami resulting from a massive offshore earthquake and prepared for the event by making the buildings and equipment watertight. But the high court, in its view of the 'duty,' contended that 'the only way to prevent the accident was to have shut down the nuclear power plant.' The nuclear power plant business is promoted as a national policy. Ensuring a stable power supply is fundamental to people's lives and economic activity. Based on this premise, the high court noted that to foresee a tsunami, it is necessary to have 'enough specificity to obligate the suspension of nuclear power plants.' On the issue of foresight, the high court set the bar extremely high. It questioned the 2002 long-term assessment, which served as the primary weapon in the plaintiffs' assertion that TEPCO's management could have foreseen the giant tsunami, saying there was no sufficient basis for the claim. The high court found that the long-term assessment was not sufficiently reliable to have obligated the management at the time to suspend the plant operations. It also stated the lack of 'a sense of urgency' on the part of the management regarding the long-term assessment was 'unavoidable.' For this reason, the issue of foresight by the former management was denied by the court. But why was it raised at the high court? Two recent decisions by the Supreme Court are believed to have had an influence. In 2022, the top court ruled in a lawsuit filed by nuclear power plant evacuees seeking compensation from the central government and other parties that 'the earthquake was bigger than expected and that the (nuclear) accident could not have been prevented even if countermeasures had been taken.' In March of this year, the Supreme Court upheld a high court ruling in a lawsuit in which two former executives were held criminally liable, stating that 'the long-term assessment was not reliable,' and acquitted them of all charges. The Supreme Court's conclusion--that the earthquake was too big to avoid an accident and the long-term evaluation was unreliable to begin with--was reflected in the high court's latest decision. The lawsuit was the last remaining avenue for the victims, who contend it is unacceptable that the former management of TEPCO should not be held responsible for the unprecedented accident. After the ruling, the plaintiffs told their supporters that the decision was 'unjust' and 'needs to be overturned.' They vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court.
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Court rejects ¥13.3 tril damages verdict against Fukushima operator ex-bosses
'Take responsibility for the Fukushima nuclear accident!' a plaintiffs' banner says. By Kyoko Hasegawa and Caroline Gardin A Japanese court overturned a 13.3 trillion yen damages verdict on Friday against ex-bosses of the operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, thought to be the largest such award ever in the country for a civil suit. Four former executives had in 2022 been ordered to collectively pay 13.3 trillion yen in a suit brought by shareholders over the nuclear disaster triggered by a massive tsunami in 2011. But the verdict was thrown out Friday by the Tokyo High Court, a spokeswoman for the institution told AFP. Shareholders had argued the catastrophe could have been prevented if Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) bosses had listened to research and implemented preventative measures like placing an emergency power source on higher ground. But the defendants countered that the risks were unpredictable, and the studies cited were not credible. "The defendants... cannot be found to have had this foreseeability at a point in time before the earthquake in question," Friday's court ruling said. The 13.3 trillion yen damages award was believed to be the largest amount ever ordered in a civil suit in Japan. It was meant to cover TEPCO's costs for dismantling reactors, compensating affected residents, and cleaning up contamination. The court spokeswoman said an appeal by the shareholders for an even higher damages order of 22 trillion yen had been denied. "Take responsibility for the Fukushima nuclear accident!" said a pink-and-white banner displayed by the plaintiffs after the ruling. Hiroyuki Kawai, head of their legal team, also issued a stark warning at a press conference on Friday. "If I were to summarize today's ruling in one phrase: It is a ruling that will lead to future serious nuclear accidents," he said. TEPCO declined to comment on the verdict. Three of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's six reactors were operating when a massive undersea quake triggered a massive tsunami on March 11, 2011. They went into meltdown after their cooling systems failed when waves flooded backup generators, leading to the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Overall the tsunami along Japan's northeast coast left around 18,500 people dead or missing. In March this year, Japan's top court said it had finalized the acquittal of two former TEPCO executives charged with professional negligence over the Fukushima meltdown. The decision concluded the only criminal trial to arise from the plant's 2011 accident. © 2025 AFP
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
High court rules TEPCO execs not responsible for nuclear disaster
Hiroyuki Kawai, center, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, criticizes the ruling in front of the Tokyo High Court in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on June 6. (Masaaki Kobayashi) The Tokyo High Court on June 6 rescinded a court order for former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co. to pay the company about 13 trillion yen ($92.6 billion) over the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In absolving the defendants of responsibility for financial damages caused to the company, the court ruled the giant tsunami that smashed into TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011, was 'unforeseeable.' The ruling overturned the Tokyo District Court's decision in 2022 to order the former TEPCO executives to pay compensation for failing to take measures that could have prevented the 'foreseeable' tsunami from causing the triple meltdown at the plant. 'This is unbelievable and unforgivable,' Yui Kimura, secretary-general of the plaintiffs' group, said of the high court's ruling. Hiroyuki Kawai, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said: 'This is an extremely unjust and logically contradictory verdict. It allows a recurrence of the nuclear accident, and we will pursue the flaws in this decision at the Supreme Court.' The plaintiffs--42 shareholders of TEPCO—had demanded 23 trillion yen in compensation to the company from five former executives and others over the damage caused by their failure to take tsunami countermeasures. The five defendants were: Tsunehisa Katsumata, a former chairman who died in 2024; Masataka Shimizu, a former president; two former vice presidents, Ichiro Takekuro and Sakae Muto; and a former managing director, Akio Komori. Katsumata's heirs succeeded him in the lawsuit. The major issues in the lawsuit were whether TEPCO management at the time could have foreseen the occurrence of such a giant tsunami and whether they could have prevented the disaster by issuing instructions for tsunami countermeasures. In 2002, the central government released a long-term evaluation of earthquake forecasts that indicated the possibility of a major earthquake followed by a massive tsunami occurring off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. The Tokyo District Court's ruling in 2022 noted that this long-term assessment was scientifically reliable because it was made by top-level Japanese researchers, among other things. Based on this assessment, the lower court found that TEPCO's management team could have foreseen the 2011 tsunami, and that the accident could have been prevented if the defendants had ordered the construction of a watertight structure to prevent flooding of the reactor buildings and other facilities. The tsunami knocked out power to the plant, leading to three reactors melting down and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate from the area. Based on the decommissioning and decontamination costs incurred and the amount of compensation paid to evacuees, the district court concluded that the former management had caused TEPCO more than 13 trillion yen in damages. At the appeal hearing, the defendants repeated their argument that 'the long-term assessment was unreliable, as it was criticized by seismologists and other experts.'
3 days ago
- Business
Japanese court rejects damage claims against utility executives over Fukushima disaster
TOKYO -- A Japanese court ruled former executives at the utility managing the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were not accountable for the 2011 meltdown crisis and do not need to pay damages to the company. The Tokyo High Court ruling on Friday reversed a lower court decision in 2022 ordering four former executives of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings to pay 13 trillion yen ($90 billion) to the company, saying they had failed to take the utmost safety precautions despite knowing the risks of a serious accident in a major tsunami. A magitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 destroyed key cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing its three reactors to melt down, spreading large amounts of radiation in the area and keeping tens of thousands of residents from returning home due to radioactive contamination and other safety concerns. The Tokyo District Court ruling three years ago was the only ruling that held the former TEPCO liable for the Fukushima disaster. It upheld the plaintiffs' argument that the executives had neglected to heed experts' long-term tsunami predictions and failed to take adequate tsunami precaution measures soon enough. The court said, however, the long-term tsunani prediction was not considered pressing data requiring immediate tsunami measures and it was understandable the executives had no sense of urgency from the data they had at that time, Kyodo News reported. Friday's ruling is a major disappointment for Fukushima residents and anti-nuclear activists seeking the managements' responsibility in nuclear safety. Plaintiffs and their lawyers criticized the ruling as 'unjust' and said they planned to appeal to the Supreme Court. Hiroyuki Kawai, a plaintiffs' lawyer, criticized the ruling as 'logically flawed," saying it means nobody can be held liable for any safety negligence because tsunami and earthquake predictions are still impossible today. A group of more than 40 TEPCO shareholders filed the lawsuit in 2012 demanding five former executives pay the company 22 trillion yen ($153 billion) in damages. The amount of the 2022 ruling against four of the executives was the highest ever ordered in a lawsuit. Japan's top court in March found two former TEPCO executives not guilty of negligence over the Fukushima meltdowns, saying a tsunami of the magnitude that hit the plant was unforeseeable. It was the only criminal trial related to the nuclear accident and the only criminal case related to the nuclear accident.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
Japanese court rejects damage claims against utility executives over Fukushima disaster
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court ruled former executives at the utility managing the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were not accountable for the 2011 meltdown crisis and do not need to pay damages to the company. The Tokyo High Court ruling on Friday reversed a lower court decision in 2022 ordering four former executives of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings to pay 13 trillion yen ($90 billion) to the company, saying they had failed to take the utmost safety precautions despite knowing the risks of a serious accident in a major tsunami. A magitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 destroyed key cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing its three reactors to melt down, spreading large amounts of radiation in the area and keeping tens of thousands of residents from returning home due to radioactive contamination and other safety concerns. The Tokyo District Court ruling three years ago was the only ruling that held the former TEPCO liable for the Fukushima disaster. It upheld the plaintiffs' argument that the executives had neglected to heed experts' long-term tsunami predictions and failed to take adequate tsunami precaution measures soon enough. The court said, however, the long-term tsunani prediction was not considered pressing data requiring immediate tsunami measures and it was understandable the executives had no sense of urgency from the data they had at that time, Kyodo News reported. Friday's ruling is a major disappointment for Fukushima residents and anti-nuclear activists seeking the managements' responsibility in nuclear safety. Plaintiffs and their lawyers criticized the ruling as 'unjust' and said they planned to appeal to the Supreme Court. Hiroyuki Kawai, a plaintiffs' lawyer, criticized the ruling as 'logically flawed,' saying it means nobody can be held liable for any safety negligence because tsunami and earthquake predictions are still impossible today. A group of more than 40 TEPCO shareholders filed the lawsuit in 2012 demanding five former executives pay the company 22 trillion yen ($153 billion) in damages. The amount of the 2022 ruling against four of the executives was the highest ever ordered in a lawsuit. Japan's top court in March found two former TEPCO executives not guilty of negligence over the Fukushima meltdowns, saying a tsunami of the magnitude that hit the plant was unforeseeable. It was the only criminal trial related to the nuclear accident and the only criminal case related to the nuclear accident.
