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Nuke plant operator found liable for suicide

The Columbian
Published: August 26, 2014, 5:00pm

Tokyo — A court in Fukushima has ruled that Tokyo Electric Power Co., the Japanese nuclear power plant operator, can be held responsible for the suicide of a woman who became depressed after the 2011 disaster.

The court ordered Tepco to pay $470,000 to Mikio Watanabe and his children after their 58-year-old wife and mother, Hamako, killed herself a few months after the nuclear meltdown that followed the earthquake and tsunami forced them out of their home and destroyed their livelihoods.

The ruling was the first time that the struggling utility had been found liable for a suicide resulting from the accident, and could galvanize others seeking redress against the company.

“I think we received a meaningful ruling that’s consistent with our feelings,” Watanabe said at a news conference after the ruling Tuesday. “The family’s suffering and pain are rewarded. When I return home, I’d like to report the result to Hamako’s portrait and tell her to have a good rest.”

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