Japan: High Court overturns massive compensation ruling for Fukushima damages

Rome, 6 June (LaPresse) – The Tokyo High Court has overturned a multi-billion dollar compensation ruling for damages caused by the accident at the Fukushima power plant. The nuclear disaster on 11 March 2011 was triggered by a violent earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The Tokyo District Court's first-instance ruling had found that the previous Tepco team responsible for the facility could have foreseen the massive tsunami and that the accident could have been avoided if they had taken countermeasures. However, the High Court ruled that the tsunami could not have been predicted in the first place, stating that there was “no sense of urgency or reality” regarding the arrival of the massive tsunami. In a complete reversal of the issue, the court did not recognise the previous management team's liability for the compensation initially awarded of approximately €80 billion.