This is the first time that former leaders of the group have been held responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.
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The culmination of a legal procedure launched ten years ago. A Tokyo court on Wednesday (July 13th) sentenced four former officials of the electricity supplier Tepco to 13 trillion yen (95 billion euros) in damages for failing to prevent the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011. This is the first time that former leaders of the group are held responsible for the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, which occurred after a gigantic tsunami.
As operator of the plant, Tepco has since faced numerous legal proceedings, including from residents who had been forced to evacuate the region because of the radiation, in sometimes very trying conditions. The procedure which led to this condemnation had been initiated by the shareholders of the company.
In 2019, three former Tepco executives prosecuted by evacuees from the region were acquitted at first instance. The civil parties appealed. These ex-leaders cleared at the time are among the four convicted on Wednesday.