Fukushima nuclear disaster victims win $12m in damages

This is the first ruling of its kind in Japan

Measuring radiation levels at Fukushima (AFP/Getty)

Japan’s Supreme Court has ruled that victims of the Fukushima disaster should be paid compensation for the tragedy.

In a first decision of its kind, the court said that Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) should pay 1.4 billion yen ($12m or about £9.1m) in damages to about 3,700 residents whose lives were upended by the nuclear disaster in 2011.

The damages cover three of more than 30 class-action lawsuits filed against the company.

The top court’s ruling today is expected to influence the other class-action lawsuits filed across the country in relation to the disaster.

The compensation awarded to the victims will average to about 380,000 yen ($3,290) per plaintiff, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The court’s decision came after it rejected an appeal by Tepco on Wednesday and ruled that it had been negligent in taking preventive measures against a tsunami of that size.

However, the top court did not pass a verdict on the role of the government, which is also a defendant in the lawsuits.

A hearing will be held next month to rule on the government’s culpability, the NHK report added.

Earlier, lower courts in the country have been split over the government’s responsibility in foreseeing the disaster and ordering steps by Tepco to prevent it.

The high courts have ordered the government to pay damages in two of the three lawsuits, reported Jiji Press.

The nuclear disaster affected tens of thousands of people when a powerful earthquake in northeast Japan triggered a tsunami that destroyed the Fukushima plant’s cooling systems, which sparked a nuclear meltdown on 11 March 2011.