Tokyo court only holds utility responsible to compensate Fukushima evacuees and reduces damages

A Tokyo court on Tuesday held only the operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant responsible for paying damages to dozens of evacuees. The Tokyo High Court also slashed the amount to half of what the lower court had ordered and relieved the government of responsibility — a decision that plaintiffs and their lawyers criticized as belittling their suffering and the severity of the disaster. The court ordered only the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, known as TEPCO, to pay a total of 23.5 million yen ($165,000) to 44 of the 47 plaintiffs, while not holding the government accountable.