Fukushima and Tsushima area residents lose in Sendai High Court, denying state responsibility for nuclear power plant accident

On the 16th, the Sendai High Court (presiding judge Yosuke Ishigaki) found TEPCO solely responsible and ordered it to pay damages in the ``Tsushima Lawsuit,'' in which residents of the Tsushima district of Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, whose entire town was evacuated due to the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident, asked the government and TEPCO to restore the area to its original condition. On the other hand, the government did not accept responsibility. The conclusion was in line with the 2022 Supreme Court ruling.

The Fukushima District Court's Koriyama Branch ruling in 2011 held that the accident could have been avoided if the government had ordered TEPCO to take tsunami countermeasures, and recognized not only TEPCO but also the national government's responsibility.

However, in 2022, the Supreme Court denied the government's responsibility in another similar lawsuit, stating, ``The actual earthquake and tsunami were much larger than expected, and even the construction of seawalls could not have prevented the accident.'' Similar judicial decisions followed in lower courts.

Therefore, at the appeals court, the plaintiffs in the Tsushima lawsuit switched their argument from conventional tsunami countermeasures, which had already been decided by the Supreme Court, and argued that the government's countermeasures for severe nuclear power plant accidents were inadequate.

The government was complaining that it was illegal for the power company to operate the nuclear power plant without requiring it to take measures to keep the reactor cool even if there was a power outage for an extended period of time.

The government took the position that the Supreme Court had concluded that it was not responsible, and TEPCO did not dispute liability.

The Tsushima area had a population of approximately 1,400 people, but an evacuation order was issued for the entire area due to the accident. Although evacuation orders were lifted for areas near the city hall and branch office in 2013, more than 98% of the area remains under evacuation orders, and residents have evacuated to surrounding municipalities. The resident population at the end of September was 19 people in 12 households.

After handing down the verdict that day, Presiding Judge Ishigaki said, ``I can clearly understand the heartbreaking feelings of the residents who were suddenly robbed of their peaceful lives.I sincerely hope that the national and local governments will take responsibility in taking into consideration the feelings of the residents, and that their wishes to return to their hometowns will come true.''

"The content of the judgment is stereotypical and of a low standard."

After 2:20pm on the 16th...