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| Fukushima suicide victim's family wins damages | Fukushima suicide victim's family wins damages |
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| The family of a Japanese woman who fatally set herself on fire after being forced to flee the nuclear disaster at Fukushima has been awarded nearly £285,000 in damages, according to reports. | The family of a Japanese woman who fatally set herself on fire after being forced to flee the nuclear disaster at Fukushima has been awarded nearly £285,000 in damages, according to reports. |
| It was the first time that the operator of the stricken plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), has been ordered to pay compensation for a suicide linked to the 2011 nuclear disaster. | It was the first time that the operator of the stricken plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), has been ordered to pay compensation for a suicide linked to the 2011 nuclear disaster. |
| A 9.0-magnitude undersea earthquake triggered a huge tsunami that swamped cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan's north-east, sparking the worst atomic accident in a generation. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated around the plant amid fears of rising radiation. | |
| Among them was Hamako Watanabe, 58, who doused herself in petrol and set herself on fire when she was allowed to return temporarily to her home in June 2011, reports said. | |
| Her husband and three children sued Tepco for damages, arguing the forced evacuation was responsible for her symptoms of depression. | |
| On Tuesday, the Fukushima district court ordered Tepco to pay a total of 49m yen (£285,000) to her family, Jiji Press and the public broadcaster NHK said. The family had demanded 91m yen. | On Tuesday, the Fukushima district court ordered Tepco to pay a total of 49m yen (£285,000) to her family, Jiji Press and the public broadcaster NHK said. The family had demanded 91m yen. |
| In a statement, Tepco apologised again to the people of Fukushima for the disaster, and said it would "examine the ruling and continue to cope with the issue sincerely". | |
| A company spokesman said no decision had yet been made on whether to appeal against the ruling. |