Japan court to rule on TEPCO execs nuclear crisis liability

A Japanese court will decide whether three former Tokyo Electric Power executives are criminally responsible for the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns, the only criminal trial in the nuclear disaster spawned by an earthquake and tsunami.

At stake in the Tokyo District Court ruling Thursday is whether ex-TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata and two former executives Sakae Muto and Ichiro Takekuro could have foreseen the tsunami and saved the plant.

The three men are charged with professional negligence, including causing the death of 44 elderly patients forcibly evacuated from a local hospital.

They apologized for the disaster but pleaded not guilty, saying they couldn’t have predicted the tsunami.

The prosecution demanded a five-year prison sentence for each, accusing them of not taking sufficient measures despite knowing the risk.