Court: Utility, not gov’t responsible for Fukushima disaster

TOKYO – A Japanese court has ruled that a utility, not the government, should pay compensation to dozens of former residents of Fukushima for losses to their livelihood caused by meltdowns at a nuclear plant after a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Chiba District Court ordered Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Friday to pay a total of 376 million yen ($3.4 million) to most of the 45 plaintiffs who sought compensation over the loss of their livelihoods and communities because of radiation contamination.

The court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claim the government should also be held responsible for its failure to enforce tsunami safety measures.

About 30 other compensation suits filed by tens of thousands of former Fukushima residents are still pending.

The wrecked Fukushima plant’s decommissioning is expected to take decades.