Six youths from Japan have sued the company that operates the Fukushima nuclear plant. He alleges that after the incident at the plant in 2011, he got thyroid cancer due to radiation.
- Youths sued Japanese company
- Alleged thyroid cancer
- The company that operates the Fukushima nuclear plant
Tokyo: 6 Japanese youths have sued the company that operates the Fukushima nuclear plant. He alleges that he developed thyroid cancer after being exposed to radiation during a meltdown at the plant in 2011. The victims’ lawyers marched to the Tokyo District Court, where dozens of supporters gathered.
- Company sued for the first time regarding health issue
The plant is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). This is the first time that someone has filed a lawsuit against the company over health issues. The ages of the generations are between 7 and 27 years. He was living in the Fukushima area when a major earthquake triggered a tsunami on March 11, 2011, leading to a nuclear disaster.
- seeking $5.4 million in compensation
His lawyers said he had surgery to remove all of his thyroid glands that had been affected by radiation. The victims are demanding 616 million yen (about Rs 40 crore 60 lakh) as compensation. However, last year a UN expert panel concluded that the disaster did not directly cause any health problems for the people living in the area.
- WHO had said that there was no cancer
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a 2013 report that the disaster would not cause any increase in cancer rates in the region. However, in 2018 the Japanese government announced that a worker had died of radiation exposure. In such a situation, compensation should be given to his family.
- The company said to deal legally
However, the complainants claim that their cancer was caused by plant exposure, as none of them had a family history of thyroid cancer. At the same time, TEPCO spokesman Takahiro Yamato said that the company will deal with the legal complaint after studying the demands and claims.
- The accident was the biggest after Chernobyl
The Fukushima Daiichi plant incident was the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The Fukushima plant was damaged by the 2011 tsunami in northeastern Japan.
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