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© KYODOEx-TEPCO execs ordered to pay ¥13 tril in damages over Fukushima crisis
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Kazuaki Shimazaki
Should be overturned on Appeal.
Paul
They will end up paying just a couple of million...
Asiaman7
Do those four defendants found liable have 13 trillion yen ($95 billion) to pay?
CarlosTakanakana
That judgment must be a mistranslation. I don’t know if this is a quirk of the Japanese language… but I often catch people mixing up large numbers by orders of magnitude.
Seigi
Where will TEPCO get the money to pay the shareholders?
Kyo wa heiwa dayo ne
And why was the managing director Akio Komori not found to be liable to pay damages ?
taito
From the government
Sven Asai
Of course the former managers cannot or will not personally pay that large amount out of their private pockets, accounts or assets. It is either only a virtual and symbolic payment obligation or someone else will pay, for example all we tax payers in general or mostly probable all the company’s customers via higher monthly costs and invoices for electricity.
smithinjapan
Paul: "They will end up paying just a couple of million..."
If it was to the people of Fukushima, then yes, they'd get out of it. But, it's to the shareholders and the utility, which itself won't pay out much if anything to the people. So, you can bet it will be upheld. Only suicide is going to see these guys from having to pay.
Mr Kipling
I would be exceedingly surprised if any of the former managers pay a single yen to anyone over this.
Asiaman7
The executives were ordered to pay TEPCO.
Nemo
Shareholders are the lowest priority of payment. Given that the liabilities likely far exceed the assets of the firm, they are as likely to collect any significant amounts as the folks down in Mississippi are to receive the coupon payments on their Confederate war bonds.
Antiquesaving
The reason is in the article:
They are not going to sue TEPCO because that would mean they as shareholders would end up paying by losing profits and assets.
Same if they sue the government as taxpayers they end up paying in the end.
dagon
In the lawsuit against the former executives, 48 shareholders sought a total of around 22 trillion yen ($160 billion) in damages to be paid to the company, the largest amount ever claimed for compensation in a civil lawsuit in Japan, according to a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.
In a rare just decision, the Japanese courts will pay off shareholders.
The actual victims of the disaster will get nothing.
Japanese justice.
kennyG
In any case, this is an epoch-making judgement although still at regional court level.
Those regular JT experts should love this order where 4 oyaji-s were ordered to personally pay 13 trillion yen.
Even if appealed up to the supreme court level, with the same verdict, these 4 oyaji-s would simply make personal bankruptcy declarations and end the whole show, legally speaking.
Yet this is a symbolic judgement, good warning to oyaji and peace-boke diathesis in Japan
CKAI
Pay, you mean their out of their own Loot?? Never!
Beep, beep, beep~brrrrr … (speeddial sounds of Looters Dial-A-Prosecuters)
Sanjinosebleed
Looks good for the news report but we all know the final payment will be a weeks salary for these fraudsters!
drlucifer
This U.S type of damage award is a like a tsunami, at first I thought it was a typo but looking at the large
placard I realized it was true, it is just unbelievable that the judge rewarded 13 trillion and not 13 billion, hope
this is the beginning of decent damages being awarded to plaintiffs especially when the ruling is against J-companies.
Chabbawanga
Itd be nice to think that these execs had this sort of money to fork out, but alas. . .
Glad to see the court come to the same conclusion the postmortem came to 10 years ago.
englisc aspyrgend
I sincerely hope the court orders the seizure of all their assets and any transferred away to others. Not holding my breath though.
Yubaru
I would sincerely appreciate the writer of this article to please share any nuclear accidents that have been worse than Fukushima.
But then white-washing the truth is common in Japan, so why should I be surprised?
It was the WORST nuclear disaster in history!
Guy-Gin
Where’s all billions for the families that lost loved ones, lost their homes., livelihoods, are STILL living in sheltered type housing. Priorities all wrong all usual.
Mark
What about the the thousands of residence who lost loved one, homes. savings, land, and every thing they earned and are still struggling. TEPCO shareholders can wait, first take care of the ones that lost everything.
Antiquesaving
Actually no!
Sorry but as far as nuclear disasters go Chernobyl is still number one!
More death, more radiation released into the atmosphere, more than double the number of people evacuated, Chernobyl exclusion zone is 2600 km2 as Fukushima is 300 km2.
So unless History only started after 1987 and we don't count Chernobyl the article is correct "one of the worst " not the worst!
wanderlust
Expect an appeal to the Supreme Court, who invariably decide in favour of the the Japan Establishment.
Rodney
Japanese govt split tepco in two, one is for shareholders profit, the other is for the disaster. As j govt owns 51%, taxpayers will have to pay for the disaster.
JTC
Shareholder win such damages, but the local residents don't ?
Hmm... something seems amiss there.
kaimycahl
This is nothing but a handshake deal. Here's the fines to satisfy the public outcry let it sit out their in the open the public will forget about it then we come back to court later and reduce the fines to acceptable levels for both parties and in the mean time lets restart the plants.
The Avenger
The technicians and engineers deserve an award for their brave attempt at preventing a bigger disaster. How many gave their lives to stay at the helm of the proverbial sinking ship.
CaptDingleheimer
Meanwhile in Japan, when the average Joe is awarded compensation for something, they get a pittance.
Like the reporter who was raped on the job by a co-worker and was awarded barely enough to buy a new Toyota Camry.
Rob-3
Keep in mind that the 13 Tril is the total amount they are seeking based on the damages they are suing for. In other words they will be seeking compensation in X amount for damages to "A". Basically a bunch of invoices that the courts will need to review and award what they feel is the appropriate amount, and it's the later that will be interesting to keep an eye on.
Basically this pay-out will be tied up in courts for a very long time.
sf2k
Finally a win. Funny it's after an election though
elephant200
I think the damages deserves much much more than 22 Trillion yen. The crisis was a kind of criminal negiliance. The Tokyo electric and the Japanese government cannot blame: Hey this is a natural disaster!
They should ask more, don't be shy!
elephant200
Those places contaminated by radiation are permanent, nobody can lives there anymore. The decendants of these miserable people deserve to get their compensations. That means their children and grand grand children were eligible to get money in a forever term. Sure TEPCO can't pay that sum, then nationalize that company and let the Japanese government takeover that burden.
JTC
Does anyone know whether these guys have such money to repay ? And if not, what next ? Or have they already shifted what they had offshore to places like Panama ?
Strangerland
13 trillion yen? Who does?
I doubt they made enough money to make that worthwhile.