Japan top court: Govt not responsible for Fukushima disaster

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Supreme Court has ruled that the government is not liable for the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, dismissing thousands of evacuees’ demands that the state, not just the utility, pay compensation for damage to their lives. The ruling is the first by the top court on government responsibility for the Fukushima disaster in four compensation lawsuits filed by about 3,700 Fukushima residents. The court says the government cannot be held liable because the damage from a massive tsunami that hit the plant could not have been prevented even if the industry minister had ordered the utility to enhance a seawall based on tsunami estimates at that time.