TEPCO trio cleared over Fukushima

Court finds ex-executives not guilty of negligence relating to nuclear disaster

Three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, were acquitted on Thursday on charges of failing to prevent the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, meaning no one will be held criminally responsible for the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

In a much-anticipated verdict, the Tokyo District Court ruled that former TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, 79, and former vice-presidents Ichiro Takekuro, 73, and Sakae Muto, 69, were not guilty of professional negligence resulting in death and injury when the March 2011 nuclear accident was triggered by a tsunami.

They had argued that they could not have foreseen the massive tsunami that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and caused core meltdowns.

"It would be impossible to operate a nuclear plant if operators are obliged to predict every possibility about a tsunami and take necessary measures," presiding judge Kenichi Nagafuchi said in handing down the ruling.

Prosecutors had accused the former executives of failing to implement tsunami countermeasures, leading to the deaths of 44 people during or after their evacuations from hospitals in the area.

A five-year prison term for each of the defendants was sought by the prosecutors, who claimed the executives could have prevented the nuclear disaster if they had fulfilled their responsibilities to collect information and implement safety measures.

In response, the defendants had all pleaded not guilty to the charges of professional negligence, saying that the data available to them before the disaster was unreliable.

"It is difficult to deal with issues that are uncertain and obscure," Takekuro said during the trial.

After the ruling, TEPCO released a statement but refused to comment further on the issue.

"We once again offer our sincerest apologies for causing great trouble and worries to many people, including people in Fukushima prefecture," the statement said, adding that TEPCO will "put all efforts" into Fukushima's reconstruction and pay compensation for damages.

"We are determined to reinforce security measures at nuclear power plants," the company added.

However, the ruling rekindled the anger among protesters who had gathered outside the court and many were dismissive of the TEPCO statement.

"It's totally unacceptable. Our years-long efforts have been wasted," one of them told China Daily. The woman, who declined to give her name, said she had traveled from Fukushima to hear the ruling.

Before the court case that led to the ruling, prosecutors had twice declined to press criminal charges against the former TEPCO executives, claiming there were only slim prospects for success. However, an independent panel of citizens later ruled against them and forced them to pursue a prosecution; the trial started in June 2017.

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake off Japan's northeast coast triggered the enormous tsunami that overwhelmed TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in meltdowns and hydrogen explosions that spewed radiation into the atmosphere and forced mass evacuations.

The Japanese government estimated in 2016 that ongoing cleanup work from the accident would cost 21.5 trillion yen ($198.3 billion). However, a study released this year by the Japan Center for Economic Research said the bill could reach $749 billion.