Payments to cover losses sustained by thousands who lived near ill-fated nuclear plant during 2011 tsunami-triggered radiation crisis
A Japanese court has ordered millions of dollars in payments to thousands of residents living near the Fukushima nuclear plant after they lost their homes and livelihoods during the 2011 radiation crisis caused by a tsunami.
The court ordered the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which ran the Fukushima plant, to pay $4.5 million to 3,800 plaintiffs after it said the company failed to make safety improvements, even though leaders there knew the risk a massive tsunami would pose to the plant.
The ruling marks the end of the biggest class action lawsuit so far stemming from the nuclear plant disaster. Dozens of similar lawsuits involving 12,000 people are still pending.
