Fukushima operator to compensate victim in suicide law suit, won't appeal
(Reuters)
TOKYO Fri Sep 5, 2014 2:22pm IST
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Last week's surprise ruling - and Tepco's decision not to appeal against it - could set a precedent for more claims for compensation in connection with the triple nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant north of Tokyo, which forced more than 150,000 people from their homes. About a third of them are still in temporary housing.
"We are not going to appeal the decision and we will pay compensation in line with what was ordered in court," said Nobuyuki Kawashima, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc, the operator of the wrecked plant.
The lawsuit by Mikio Watanabe blamed the operator of the plant for the July 2011 death of his wife, Hamako, 58, who doused herself in kerosene and set herself on fire after falling into depression.
The couple was forced to flee their home in the town of Yamakiya, 50 km (30 miles) away, after the plant was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, spewing radiation into the air...
