TOKYO: A Tokyo court on Wednesday ordered former executives from the operator of the devastated Fukushima nuclear plant to pay 13.32 trillion yen ($97 billion) for failing to prevent the disaster, plaintiffs said.

Four ex-bosses from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) were ordered to pay the damages in a suit brought by shareholders over the nuclear disaster triggered by a massive tsunami in 2011.

Plaintiffs emerged from the Tokyo court holding banners reading “shareholders win” and “responsibility recognised”. Lawyers for the plaintiffs hailed the ruling, and said they believed it to be the largest amount of compensation ever awarded in a civil lawsuit in Japan.

“Nuclear power plants can cause irreparable damage to human lives and the environment,” the plaintiffs said in a separate statement after the ruling.

“Executives for firms that operate such nuclear plants bear enormous responsibility, which cannot compare with that of other companies.” The shareholders argued that the disaster could have been prevented if TEPCO bosses had listened to research and carried out preventative measures like placing an emergency power source on higher ground. Defendants said the studies they were not credible and the risks unpredictable.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2022