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The record sum is intended to remind Japanese managers that they are personally responsible for their actions.
It’s all about this: Four former top managers of the Japanese energy company Tepco have been sentenced to billions in damages more than eleven years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The four people responsible could have averted the catastrophe, the court justified the fine totaling the equivalent of almost 95 billion francs. Shareholders of the listed Tepco had sued.
Therefore the judgment is important: For the first time, a court has found the nuclear power plant operating company Tepco responsible for the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. On March 11, 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.1 a good 100 kilometers off the east coast of Japan triggered a huge tsunami that not only killed thousands of people, but also triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Hundreds of thousands of people had to permanently leave the region around the nuclear power plant.
This is the reasoning of the court: According to the judge, Tepco executives should have foreseen the possibility of a tsunami. As early as 2002, a Tepco subsidiary warned of the tsunami risk for the reactor blocks in Fukushima based on a study. Now the court says that a responsible manager would have taken this warning seriously and acted with foresight and, for example, protected the emergency generators better. These failed after the tsunami, whereupon the reactor blocks could no longer be cooled and the core melted down.
This is how it goes on: “Of course, the four managers cannot pay the equivalent of 95 billion francs,” says Martin Fritz, a journalist living in Tokyo. You are probably facing personal bankruptcy. The plaintiffs – Tepco shareholders – were not concerned with the money either, but with the managers being held accountable – which has now happened. Those convicted still have the opportunity to appeal the verdict.
The court sends the message to the Japanese managers: Act responsibly!
This is the effect of the judgment: “The huge amount of compensation from the judgment basically serves as a deterrent,” says journalist Fritz. This was intended to remind Japanese managers that they had long-term responsibility for the company. “With the extremely high sum, the court is sending the message to the managers: Act responsibly!”.