Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Activists gathered outside the Tokyo District Court on Friday as a court hearing against Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant operator TEPCO took place inside. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for damage caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster 10 years ago.

The first witness of the day, Okumura, was part of the working group responsible for analyzing the “Great Jogan Earthquake” of the Heian era that caused a great tsunami in the year 901 in the same area of northeastern Japan.

Okumura stated that tsunami simulations he had undertaken were submitted to TEPCO as the company analyzed the risks of future tsunamis at the Fukushima plant. Okumura said that his team was not in a position to analyze the effects of a tsunami on nuclear installations.

In the afternoon, two witnesses and two former Toshiba engineers took the stand and answered questions from the lawyers.

The first witness, Atsuo Watanabe, was in charge of turbines and pipes and said he knew the problems of the safety of nuclear installations. He described how a meltdown occurs and used visual aids to show nuclear rods melting.

The second witness, Masashi Goto, a containment vessel designer and engineer, told the court that he concluded that the plants were dangerous, adding “that we cannot protect society if we do not shut down nuclear power plants.”