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Full-Text Articles in Disaster Law
Government Liability For Regulatory Failure In The Fukushima Disaster: A Common Law Comparison, Joel Rheuben
Government Liability For Regulatory Failure In The Fukushima Disaster: A Common Law Comparison, Joel Rheuben
Washington International Law Journal
This article considers the Japanese government’s response to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power disaster, in assisting Tokyo Electric Power Company (“TEPCO”) with handling claims for compensation. It argues that in setting guidelines for claims, establishing a government alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) body to deal with disputes, and creating a convoluted funding structure that has led to the effective nationalization of TEPCO, the government has intervened significantly in what are essentially private disputes governed by the Nuclear Compensation Law. This is contrasted with the less interventionist response of the New South Wales government in Australia to mass tort claims for asbestos …
Introduction: The Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Disaster And The Future Of Nuclear Energy Programs In Japan And East Asia, Hiroshi Fukurai
Introduction: The Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Disaster And The Future Of Nuclear Energy Programs In Japan And East Asia, Hiroshi Fukurai
Washington International Law Journal
On March 11, 2011, a massive 9.0 magnitude quake and powerful tsunami slammed the northeastern region of Japan. Huge seismic activities knocked out the power at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, and ensuing tidal waves disabled the backup generators for cooling systems to the active reactors. This triggered a series of hydrogen explosions and released dangerously high levels of radioactive particles into the atmosphere. The Japanese government declared a nuclear emergency, due to the worst nuclear crisis in Japanese history, and decided to evacuate 140,000 residents within twenty kilometers of the plant to various relocation centers
Corporate Liability, Government Liability, And The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, Eri Osaka
Corporate Liability, Government Liability, And The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, Eri Osaka
Washington International Law Journal
This article focuses on the liability issues arising from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The radioactivity released from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant inflicted catastrophic harm to people, industries, and the environment. Under Japanese law, a nuclear operator bears strict, channeling, and unlimited liability for nuclear damage unless the damage is caused by a grave natural disaster of an exceptional character. This article concludes the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that triggered this nuclear accident do not fall within this exemption because neither of them were unforeseeable nor far beyond the design basis for the reactors at the plant. …