Hyogo gov't worker leaves water running for a month; forced to pay half ¥6 mil bill

Poor guy made a simple mistake at work, he was probably tired and overworked anyway. Contractor should of reminded him what still needed to be done

Then he gets tried and convicted by random do-gooders on the internet and loses income for his family.

Wow....seems a bit excessive for what is likely human error.

Using this logic can we hold Abe accountable for 46.6 billion Yen (or half of that bill) for the money which was squandered on those stupid masks?

It was an accident! A careless accident, but still an accident. From reading the headline I though it was deliberate. He shouldn’t have to pay.

Water should be free.

If an error like this could happen, it was a systemic error. It’s pathetic putting it upon the worker, unless they were able to show professional negligence.

@ SandyBeach

Nothing is free in life

Happened to me sort of. A tap at my business started leaking over the weekend. Cost me ¥33000. My water insurance didn’t cover it as they said maintenance was my responsibility.

@Strangerland

It’s pathetic putting it upon the worker,

I fully agree with this. From what I have read this is clearly unintentional. On the other hand Abe intentionally squandered 46.6 Billion yen however there are no repurcussoins for deliberate action producing something that no one uses nor ever will. I do not know a single person who has used one of those.

The Hyogo government (who enable the great money wasting scheme which is now the Kobe Airport) can afford to "eat" this one and tell the employee to not let it happen again...

Poor worker. A very costly mistake. But a very harsh penalty in my opinion.

Water costs in Kobe are limited to a set amount but become expensive once a certain number of liters are exceeded-this guy should have been more careful and his order to pay seems reasonable.

Why would there not be insurance cover for this?

alongfortheride - I was thinking just the same.

There is no doubt the workers negligence caused the incident. Incidents occur all the time in the workplace esp in Industry. Workers have responsibilities, but in the real world mistakes happen.

That's why insurance exists.

And this being a govt worker - does this set a precedent as alluded to by others?

Can we the public expect the trillions lost by inept decisions cast by politicians (govt workers) to be repaid out of pocket?

I hope so.

I wouldn't want to pay but I would. He said he would handle the rest and he failed. There are steps in place for this type of inspection and it says the contractor was finished so the rest must be up to the worker and he accepted responsibility. His own words are what makes him responsible. I feel for the guy though.

Taxpayers money should not be used for such a stupid mistake for many months. I wonder why he did not check the storage tank at least once later. The mistake is completely official neglect.

I left all my taps trickling for about a week during a recent cold snap. I usually spend 900 yen a month on water. This month's bill was 4000 yen. Still much cheaper than the repairs for a burst pipe!

They probably said you can pay 1/2 or you’re fired?

I would have fought like hell to not pay it. How could a person afford that kind of money?!

Water should be free.

why even on my property I have all the ground water ill ever need, but Ive still got to pay for the electricity to pump it from the bore

When the contractor was finished, the employee told him, “I’ll handle the rest,” and let him take off early. However, he didn’t quite handle everything and forgot to close the drain in the storage tank. 

It seems like an honest mistake, not malice, so I think a punishment seems fair, but this amout is unreasable.

When I first came to Japan I lived in the hills above Kyoto. Water flowed out of a tap from a stream further uphill. I was told never to turn it off or it would silt up. Free, and free flowing!

When I first came to Japan I lived in the hills above Kyoto. Water flowed out of a tap from a stream further uphill. I was told never to turn it off or it would silt up. Free, and free flowing!

These tapped springs are all around Japan. Very useful in Tohoku after the 2011 disaster when people had fears of nuclear fallout. Delicious and clean deep spring water.

In many countries, this would be handled by insurance. This was just some water. What about the employee who makes a mistake that does millions in damage, beyond what he could possibly afford?

Why would there not be insurance cover for this?

Because insurance in Japan isn't worth squat, it's a ripoff.

Too behind times.

He must have felt a right drip but it’s all water under the bridge, no need to faucet.

As I noted before, mistakes happen often in industry. Many years ago while working for a premium winery a worker neglected to connect a pump hose completely while moving wine from tank to tank. 10,000 litres was lost literally down the drain. While the worker was hauled over the coals, the idea that somehow he'd have to pay out of his own pocket would have been unfathomable. And yes insurance covered that.

Again - if this act of negligence by a govt worker can be penalized in this manner - then we as taxpayers have every right to demand all govt workers including politicians, must recompense the coffers for bad / wrongful / neglectful decisions made that costs the community.

But this articles story appears to be a classic top down power trip - underlings beware.

Hung out to dry, did he do it on purpose? No, simple mistake that the government made since the employee works for them.

If you are liable for doing your job and make a mistake, you are not being paid enough and trained enough, just get an other job and let the stress go. What is worth trying only to be penalised?

6 million yen?

That doesn't sound right.

Water in Japan is roughly 200 yen per cubic meter, so in the worst case scenario, this employee had apparently wasted 30,000 cubic meters (￥6,000,000 / ￥200) of water or 1,000 cubic meter per day, which is roughly 41,000 liters per hour.

That's way too much water for a 15 tons tank and there's no valve that I know of, capable of draining 41,000 liters per hour, besides, someone would have noticed the river coming out of the building.

Unless the price structure has some overcharges for excessive usage, this doesn't sound right.

@SandyBeachHeaven

Water should be free.

No it should not !

Clean Water is a limited resource, & as such should be regarded as a valuable commodity.

I guarantee, There will be wars fought in the future over water.

Ouch, but at least he kept his job. He was at fault but is it better to pay some money and keep your job or be held responsible for the loss and be fired for negligence?

By the way why does the tap in the picture above need three valves on one outlet?

As far as I understand it, dam water is divided up and sold to surrounding cities in advance at an assessed rate, whether they want that much or not. This cost is passed on to companies and individuals, which explains why water is so expensive.

Pleas that you sometimes see for water conservation above the faucets is usually nothing to do with the environment, but simply an appeal for cost awareness.

Charging people for mistakes made at work, only in Japan.

SandyBeachHaven: "Water should be free."

No, and that attitude is why so many in the world have no access to the resource people like yourself take for granted. It should be free for the poor people who have no running water, given to them by the rich nations with access to it. They say something like your average household here wastes SO MUCH water (not just here, but in many nations) that in one week in an average household the amount of water wasted would be enough for your average Indian family for ONE YEAR. I shiver when I think of the sheer, utter waste -- probably could have been the water for an entire nation somewhere, for a year. He should have had to pay the entire 6 million.

Smith, a tad over the top don’t you think? While I agree we should be aware of the real cost of water and the fact that we enjoy easy access to safe water, over stating the case will just put people off rather than engage and enlighten them.

Of course some of the problem is down to corrupt politicians and self serving governments in the affected countries and an unwillingness of the people to get off there arses and help them selves. This poor guy f***ed up, not exactly a crime against humanity.

It wasn’t a criminal act, he should have been indemnified by his employer. Certainly he was responsible and deserved disciplinary action, possibly even the sack. But, everyone makes mistakes. If employees are required to provide their own PL insurance, employers must be prepared to pay considerably more for labour. Or expect jobs with any level of civil liability to be treated like a poisoned chalice.