2020: Disaster and Civil Actions

Quelle: The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 18 | Issue 9 | Number 1 | Article ID 5392 | May 01, 2020
Mit freundlicher Erlaubnis von Japan Focus
3. Mai 2020

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and Civil Actions as a Social Movement

By Paul Jobin


Abstract:
In addition to a citizen initiative to launch a criminal lawsuit against Tepco and Japanese state executives over their responsibility for the Fukushima nuclear disaster, more than thirty collective civil actions have been launched across the country. Thus far, thirteen verdicts have been handed down, with a large majority of courts ruling against Tepco and the state. Despite disappointingly small amounts of compensation, these verdicts carry important sociological significance as they challenge the government’s efforts to restart nuclear power plants. This article provides an overview and typology of the lawsuits, showing that these civil actions build on a legacy of social movements organized by networks of lawyers and activists.

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