
Tokyo High Court slashes damages to Fukushima nuclear disaster evacuees - ericdanielski
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/18/national/crime-legal/tokyo-high-court-slashes-damages-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-evacuees/
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pgt
I used to be pro-nuclear, but here in South Africa, we can't even keep our
coal plants running - nevermind nuclear. Last week a 930MW nuclear turbine at
Koeberg went down because the cooling pump filters had not been cleaned in
years and was filled with fish and jellyfish.

Small-scale, independent solar producers and perhaps geothermal or CSP (molten
salt) seem to be the only strategies that can work.

There will always be corruption, war and fraud. To be pro-nuclear, you have to
guarantee political stability for 100+ years, and I don't think many places
could guarantee that.

~~~
toomuchtodo
> There will always be corruption, war and fraud. To be pro-nuclear, you have
> to guarantee political stability for 100+ years, and I don't think many
> places could guarantee that.

Indeed. This is the crux of it. Nuclear run by the US military? Very safe.
Nuclear (as a power source, not talking munitions) run by the rest of the
world as a commercial operation? Fraught with peril. I'm not anti-nuclear; I'm
anti-humans-running-nuclear-for-profit.

It's time to move to renewables, batteries, and transmission networks, full
steam ahead.

[https://pvbuzz.com/renewables-capacity-overwhelms-coal-
gas-o...](https://pvbuzz.com/renewables-capacity-overwhelms-coal-gas-oil/)
(US: Over the next three years, renewables will add nearly 50,000-MW of new
capacity and be more than a quarter of total, while gas, coal, oil, and
nuclear will drop by 4,200-MW)

[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/wind-
and...](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/wind-and-solar-
plants-will-soon-be-cheaper-than-coal-in-all-big-markets-around-world-
analysis-finds) (Wind and solar plants will soon be cheaper than coal in all
big markets around world, analysis finds)

~~~
mcguire
" _Nuclear run by the US military? Very safe._ "

Are you sure? Would we know?

~~~
bumby
It's not immediately clear what they were referring to. Maybe they're
referring to the nuclear powered warship record?

"they have amassed over 5700 reactor-years of safe operation."[1]

[1][https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/n-america/us/security/fact0604...](https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/n-america/us/security/fact0604.pdf)

Edit: On second thought, there seems to be more than I was expecting,
especially early in the atomic era:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_nuclear_accid...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_nuclear_accidents)

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atdrummond
Not even 10,000 USD. A bit underwhelming even at the original award amount (3m
Yen, ~27,600 USD).

~~~
jcheng
> ...on top of the ¥8.5 million it paid per person based on estimates
> calculated under government-set interim standards.

So ¥9.5 million, or ~$88,000 total

~~~
atdrummond
Correct. I know individuals whose expenses related to abandonment of their
homes in the region (such as temporary housing, replacement of household
goods, etc.) far exceeded ¥1 million. The original amount, much less the
reduced compensation, didn't seem appropriate in light of the experienced
abandonment-related damages.

I don't know enough about the ¥8.5 million calculation, and what damages it is
meant to cover, to conclude whether it is a reasonable sum or not.

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gchamonlive
> But the amount of the additional damages should be reduced because
> individual circumstances of the evacuees should not be taken into account

I wonder what is the reasoning behind this.

~~~
kazinator
The reasoning is probably that individuals have individual problems that are
in addition to being evacuees from the disaster.

Problem is, you can't separate that from the disaster. Problems combine. If
you have two problems A and B in your life, the impact isn't simply A + B. It
could be as much as A x B.

If B is the fault of someone who caused an accident, there should be some room
to go after more than just B-sized compensation.

But, anyway, this seems to illustrate the court system at work. It's not
simply the case that one side gets everything that they want. That's why you
have to sue for more than you're willing to settle for; ask for a pie in the
sky, settle for a muffin.

~~~
gowld
Indeed
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggshell_skull](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggshell_skull)

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anigbrowl
In difficult times, those with power will always choose to hurt the weakest.
Something to remember going forward.

~~~
creddit
Seems like this isn't so true now with the COVID crisis. Lots of talk about
giving everyone checks. Lots of companies continuing to pay workers who aren't
working. What drives your statement?

~~~
gowld
The jury is still out. The Piper hasn't come for the pay yet.

~~~
creddit
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/world/coronavirus-
news.ht...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/world/coronavirus-
news.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage)

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zadkey
Some of the wording in this article is confusing.

"The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday ordered ¥1 million in additional damages be
paid each to some 300 evacuees from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, down
by two-thirds from the amount awarded by a lower court ruling."

"Additional damages" vs "down by two-thirds"

If it's down by two-thirds, it's not additional, its a reduction.

~~~
zadkey
This only makes sense if there was an initial court ruling for a set amount of
damages.

And then later another ruling for additional damages by a lower court, and
then a higher court reduced the additional amount.

