Japanese court "Tokyo Electric Power Company pays 500 million won in compensation to 212 residents affected by Fukushima nuclear power plant"

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Byeong-gyu = A Japanese court ruled that Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the nuclear power plant, must compensate residents who suffered damage from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident during the Great East Japan Earthquake.

According to NHK on the 28th, the Tokyo District Court (District Court) ruled that Tokyo Electric Power Company should pay 63 million yen (approximately 533.55 million won) in compensation in a lawsuit filed against the government and TEPCO, saying that residents affected by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident suffered from evacuation and lived with anxiety about radiation exposure.

The plaintiffs are 233 people who evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture to Tokyo or remained in Fukushima due to the accident, including those who did not receive evacuation orders from the government. They filed a lawsuit demanding compensation of 4.7 billion yen (about 39.8 billion won) from both the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company.

The court ruled that Tokyo Electric Power Company should pay 63 million yen in compensation to 212 of the plaintiffs, saying, "It was a reasonable action for residents in areas not subject to evacuation orders to evacuate to avoid health concerns due to radiation exposure, and a causal relationship with the accident is recognized. The accident caused anxiety and fear even to those who did not evacuate."

However, regarding the state's liability for compensation, the court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims, saying, "Tokyo Electric Power Company was obligated to take appropriate measures to prevent accidents caused by the tsunami."

In a class action lawsuit related to the Fukushima nuclear accident, the court ruled four years ago denying the state's liability for compensation, and subsequent judgments to the same effect have continued to be made in similar lawsuits.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident occurred in the aftermath of the magnitude 9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. A tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing nuclear fuel to melt and a hydrogen explosion to occur. As a result, a large amount of radioactive material poured out, and large-scale evacuation orders were issued to nearby areas.

According to Fukushima Prefecture, the number of evacuees reached approximately 160,000 (100,000 evacuees within the prefecture) in 2012, and although it has been more than 15 years since the accident, 22,625 people (including 3,936 evacuees within the prefecture) are still evacuated as of May 1 of this year.