About 170 people who had to move from Fukushima Prefecture to Kyoto Prefecture in western Japan, claimed approximately $8 million from the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, the media said.
The plaintiffs demanded compensation for psychological suffering caused by the loss of their livelihoods, according to the TV channel.
While TEPCO and the government denied the claim that they could have foreseen and prevented the damage from the massive tsunami, which disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima reactors, the court acknowledged their responsibility in the case.
In March 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was hit by a 46-foot tsunami triggered by a 9.0-magnitude offshore earthquake, crippling the facility’s cooling system and resulting in the leakage of radioactive materials, hydrogen-air explosions and eventually the plant’s shutdown. The accident is regarded as the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
