nuclear-news

TEPCO to Get Ruling in July over March 2011 Meltdowns

In a little-publicized civil trial, shareholders sued TEPCO’s executives for their roles in the 2011 nuclear disaster. The trio was also brought up on criminal charges for the same negligence issues. This civil trial seeks to compensate shareholders for their losses when TEPCO’s stock tanked after the disaster. The court has heard arguments and will have a verdict around July of 2022. The shareholders are seeking 22 trillion yen, about $194 billion USD.

December 1, 2021

Tokyo, Dec. 1 (Jiji Press)–A ruling on a shareholder derivative lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. over the March 2011 nuclear accident at its Fukushima No. 1 power plant will be handed down on July 13 next year.

In the lawsuit, shareholders are demanding that TEPCO pay 22 trillion yen in damages to take responsibility for the alleged failure of five former executives, including former Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, 81, to take countermeasures against tsunami.

Oral proceedings at Tokyo District Court were concluded on Tuesday, more than nine years since the lawsuit was instituted, marking a milestone in the civil suit with demand for the highest-ever compensation in Japan.

During Tuesday’s hearing, shareholders once again pointed to negligence on the part of the five former TEPCO executives over the nuclear accident at the power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. An unprecedented triple meltdown accident occurred after the plant was struck by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequently triggered huge tsunami.

Shareholders claim that TEPCO could have predicted the tsunami and taken precautions against flooding, on the basis of long-term assessments by a government committee noting the possibility of an 8.0-magnitude-class massive quake along the Japan Trench in the Pacific, including off the coast of Fukushima.

https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2021113001178/

December 7, 2021 - Posted by dunrenard | Fukushima 2021 | Fukushima Disaster, Shareholder Lawsuit, Tepco