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.
