Nuclear Power Plant Alimony Litigation Order of TEPCO Over 700 Million Yen Sendai High Court March 12, 19:24

In a trial in which it was argued that the awards for residents evacuated in the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were appropriate, the Sendai High Court in the second trial said, "TEPCO is aware of the possibility of the accident as of 2008. And sentenced TEPCO to pay about 730 million yen, more than 100 million yen more than the first instance. This is the first time for a two-stage trial in a class action lawsuit over the damage from the nuclear accident.

In this case, more than 200 people, including residents of Futaba-gun and Minamisoma-shi in Fukushima Prefecture, were deprived of their home life by the nuclear accident and were forced to evacuate by a total of ¥ 1.888 billion to Tokyo Electric Power. I asked for payment.

In the trial, whether the award fee shown by TEPCO based on the national guidelines was debatable, and the first instance Fukushima District Court Iwaki Branch ordered the payment of over 610 million yen, exceeding the guidelines, and the plaintiff and the defendant Were both appealing.

In a decision of the two courts on December 12, Judge Hisaki Kobayashi of the Sendai High Court stated, "TEPCO has been aware of the possibility of an accident due to a large tsunami, An accident occurred during the postponement of construction, and inadequate response must be said to be an extreme bitterness. "

In addition, he added, "Inhabitants suffered a great deal of emotional distress, such as cutting off human relationships in the community," and increased the amount of compensation for 146 of the plaintiffs by about 120 million yen more than in the first instance. He ordered about 730 million yen in compensation.

According to the plaintiffs and others, it is the first time that a high court ruled in two cases has been issued in a class action lawsuit over the damage of the nuclear accident.

A class action lawsuit has been filed all over the country, as well as TEPCO, in charge of the liability for the nuclear accident, and the district court has divided the judgment on whether or not to be responsible, and the judgment of the high court, which will be issued in the future, is attracting attention.

Cheers and applause from plaintiffs

When the ruling was issued, the lawyers of the plaintiff's agents raised papers saying `` winning overcoming the ruling '' in front of the court, and cheers and applause arose from the gathered plaintiffs and supporters .

Mr. Atsushi Hayakawa, the leader of the plaintiffs, said in tears, "I was recognized that I had appealed the judge's common sense, and I was given a more conscientious judgment than I imagined."

Onodera Toshitaka, co-chair of the defense team, said, "This is an extremely ground-breaking decision that recognizes TEPCO's maliciousness from the front and responds to the suffering of victims losing their hometown. ), And seek to resolve the matter as soon as possible without appeal. "

Resident agent in another class action "landmark decision"

Attorney Kentaro Manaki, who is a local lawyer in another class action and is familiar with the civil trial over the nuclear accident, said on Tuesday that `` TEPCO could anticipate the tsunami in advance and take measures against the accident. Taking into account the fact that it did not exist, we increased the amount of compensation and increased the amount of compensation. A valuable and groundbreaking judgment based on the plaintiff's thoughts showed the insight of the Sendai High Court. "

He pointed out, "Since the Tokyo High Court decides on a similar case this month, that decision could create a level of compensation for residents living in the area."

TEPCO “Scrutinize the contents of the judgment and respond”

TEPCO commented, "We will scrutinize the contents of the judgment and consider how to respond to it."