People vs TEPCO

March 31, 2012

14 nuke disaster evacuation zone residents file 265 million yen suit against TEPCO

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120331p2a00m0na004000c.html

Fourteen residents of Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, have filed suit with the Tokyo District Court against Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), demanding some 265 million yen in compensation for what they call mental suffering caused by radiation exposure fears and life in temporary housing.

The suit is believed to be the first class action suit against the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant over the ongoing nuclear crisis.

The plaintiffs, representing five households and aged 20 to 82, evacuated from Iitate after the village was included in the nuclear disaster evacuation zone and now live in temporary accommodations in Fukushima, Sendai and other locations.

A government panel setting guidelines for financial compensation for victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster says every person experiencing mental suffering should receive 100,000 yen per month for the first six months of the crisis and 50,000 yen per month for the next six months.

The plaintiffs, however, are demanding 300,000 yen per month for two years starting from the beginning of the crisis, plus 10 million yen per head of household, stressing the mental and physical suffering they've experienced as their lives have been thrown into disarray by the evacuation, and the constant fear of radioactive contamination.

The plaintiffs say they filed the class action suit against TEPCO because the government's compensation

mediation center has for the most part failed to secure larger amounts than those stipulated under the guidelines, and managed to reach a compromise in only a limited number of cases.

One of the plaintiffs is Shuko Ichizawa, 58, who evacuated to the city of Fukushima soon after realizing a longtime dream to open a coffee shop in the village. "I don't know what to do because the village where I was born, grew up and achieved my lifelong goal was destroyed. Is only 100,000 yen compensation enough for that?" he said at a news conference before the suit was filed.

Click here for the original Japanese story