Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A group of demonstrators gathered in front of the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Thursday to protest Wednesday’s court decision in Tokyo that exonerated three officials of Tokyo Electric Power Company over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The officials had been accused of failing to take steps to prevent a tsunami inundating the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, having been warned of the possible consequences should a large tsunami hit the area.

Citizens opposed to nuclear power denounced Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio’s policy of restarting nuclear power plants and said Wednesday’s verdict paved the way for others to avoid taking responsibility in the event of a new nuclear accident.

They also denounced the planned dumping of radioactive waste water in the Pacific Ocean, stating that cases of thyroid cancer were spreading in the area around the crippled nuclear plant.

A lawyer criticized the Fukushima governor’s policy of “discriminating” against nuclear refugees and accused the authorities of forcing them out of their temporary accommodation by doubling their rent.