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bananas

(27,509 posts) Mon Feb 29, 2016, 03:41 AM Feb 2016

Former Tepco Execs Indicted Over Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Source: Reuters

Five years later, Fukushima is still under investigation.

Three former Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) executives were indicted on Monday for failing to take safety measures to prevent the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, a local media report said.

In accordance with Japanese law, prosecutors indicted the three on charges they failed to strengthen the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant despite foreseeing the dangers of a nuclear crisis from tsunamis, Kyodo news agency reported.

Read more: http://fortune.com/2016/02/28/tepco-execs-indicted-fukushima/

5 replies

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Highlight:

Former Tepco Execs Indicted Over Fukushima Nuclear Disaster (Original Post) bananas Feb 2016 OP

3 Ex-Execs of Utility Charged in Fukushima Disaster bananas Feb 2016 #1

Link to BBC nitpicker Feb 2016 #2

Well, a jury just let the BP guy off, let's see if the Japanese handle theirs better than we did. Dustlawyer Feb 2016 #3

On March 11, TEPCO boss was on va-ca. Octafish Feb 2016 #4

Wait, you can indict executives? I thought all corporate executives were above the law. tclambert Feb 2016 #5

bananas

(27,509 posts)

1. 3 Ex-Execs of Utility Charged in Fukushima Disaster

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Mon Feb 29, 2016, 03:43 AM

Feb 2016

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/execs-utility-charged-fukushima-disaster-37270700

3 Ex-Execs of Utility Charged in Fukushima Disaster

By The Associated Press
TOKYO — Feb 28, 2016, 10:20 PM ET

Three former utility executives have been formally charged over their alleged negligence in the Fukushima nuclear disaster, becoming the first ones from the company to go to criminal court.

National broadcaster NHK reported that a group of court-appointed lawyers on Monday had indicted Tsunehisa katsumata, chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. at the time of the crisis, along with two other TEPCO executives. The three men, charged with professional negligence, were not arrested.

The indictment follows a decision by an 11-member judicial committee in July to send the three men to criminal court after prosecutors had dropped the case.

Three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami suffered meltdowns, triggering massive radiation leaks that forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

nitpicker

(7,153 posts)

2. Link to BBC

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Mon Feb 29, 2016, 07:41 AM

Feb 2016

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35684098

Dustlawyer

(10,497 posts)

3. Well, a jury just let the BP guy off, let's see if the Japanese handle theirs better than we did.

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Mon Feb 29, 2016, 09:51 AM

Feb 2016

Like Wall Street, BP is pretty much above the law. Most of their "settlement" is tax deductible, meaning taxpayers pay for it! Even though BP intentionally violated the rules and took extremely risky shortcuts that both Haliburton and Transocean representatives told them what was likely to happen. They eventually went along under threats to their future business with the oil giant.

We live under corporate rule. They pay to get their politicians elected who then do what they want while pretending it's all for OUR good. They control the judicial system and the AG's office. They have their media shape the stories to get us to think like they want. It all makes me sick.

Octafish

(55,745 posts)

4. On March 11, TEPCO boss was on va-ca.

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Mon Feb 29, 2016, 11:48 AM

Feb 2016

Vanishing act by Japanese executive during nuclear crisis raises questions

By Andrew Higgins
Washington Post
March 28, 2011 1:51 PM

TOKYO — In normal times, Masataka Shimizu lives in The Tower, a luxury high rise in the same upscale Tokyo district as the U.S. Embassy. But he hasn’t been been there for more than two weeks, according to a uniformed doorman.

Death, devastation grip Japan following quake:?A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake and several powerful aftershocks struck the eastern coast of Japan on Friday afternoon, triggering tsunamis that devastated the coastline north of Tokyo.

Gallery: Death, devastation grip Japan following quake:?A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake and several powerful aftershocks struck the eastern coast of Japan on Friday afternoon, triggering tsunamis that devastated the coastline north of Tokyo.

In fact, nobody has seen much recently of the president of Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, owner of a haywire nuclear power plant just 150 miles from the Japanese capital.

He is the most invisible — and also most reviled — chief executive in Japan.

CONTINUED...

Link Busted for moi.

tclambert

(11,087 posts)

5. Wait, you can indict executives? I thought all corporate executives were above the law.

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Mon Feb 29, 2016, 02:06 PM

Feb 2016

Oh, this is in Japan. Here in our more civilized country we know the importance of letting executives get away with it. We don't want to disrupt the economy with anything like enforcing laws, or holding businesspeople accountable for anything. We bail them out even when they aren't in jail.

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