Japan court holds ex-TEPCO execs liable for Fukushima crisis

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A Tokyo court on Wednesday ordered four former executives of the utility behind the tsunami wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant to pay 13 trillion yen ($94 billion) to the company, holding them liable for the 2011 meltdown crisis. In a closely-watched ruling, the Tokyo District Court said the former chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and three other former executives failed to fulfil their duty of taking the utmost safety measures despite knowing the risks of a serious accident if a major tsunami hit. It ruled they could have prevented the disaster if they had taken necessary steps sooner.