【Declaration】Greens Japan formal declaration on the occasion of the announcement of the decision to prosecute former Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) executives

8/1/2015

Greens Japan declaration regarding the decision to prosecute former Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) executives.
A historic first step towards accountability for the Fukushima nuclear disaster.


Co-leaders of Greens Japan
Hitoshi Nakayama, Uiko Hasegawa, Heiwa Hasegawa and Namiho Matsumoto

On the 31st of July, the judicial committee overseeing the complaint alleging that three of the former executives who were in charge at the time of the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear disaster were to blame for the death and physical injury of those living in the area due to administrative negligence made an announcement that they would be proceeding with indictments against said company officials. Among those to be prosecuted is former company president, Tsunehisa Katusmata. To this end, it has been determined that the aforementioned individuals will be mandatorily prosecuted by a team of lawyers who will be appointed by the Tokyo District Court.Four years have passed since this disaster occurred in Fukushima (the 11th of March 2011 to be exact). In that time, numerous people have borne the brunt of the negative physical, psychological and material effects of this catastrophe, not to mention the vast damage inflicted on the natural environment yet it is only now that an attempt to ascertain criminal negligence is being made.

It is said that one of the biggest issues concerning energy generated by nuclear power is that it is never clear who should take the blame when an incident such as this occurs.This kind of thinking has led to a situation where no single individual has been sought to take responsibility for this tragedy; despite the massive ecological damage it has caused. Nearly 110,000 people were forced to evacuate the area and they still cannot return to their homes. The decision to proceed with the prosecution case is due to the survivors of this difficult period standing up and continuing to make their voices heard. It is thanks to them that this has become reality.

The Greens Japan support the judgement of the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution to overturn the Office of Public Prosecution’s previous decision to not pursue further prosecution, their recognition of the assertions made by the complainants and to their determination to establish culpability in this matter.It is our strong desire that the truth of this matter is finally uncovered and that an equitable decision is reached. We will also continue to do our utmost, along with our fellow citizens, to achieve a society free of nuclear energy.


The following statement was translated on a gratis basis by a member of the Australian Greens (Victorian Branch), Glen Cowan on behalf of Greens Japan.

For more information concerning this issue, please refer to: 1/25/2015 Greens Japan Steering Committee Media Statement concerning the decision to dismiss the lawsuit aimed at ascertaining responsibility for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster:
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