There Are Few Cases Around Here: Structural Problems of the Japanese Nuclear Compensation Scheme

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident resulted in mass evacuations and radioactive contamination of wide areas. As a result, 1.5 million people are assumed to have legal claims against Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The Nuclear Compensation Act provides a settlement procedure (ADR) based on guidelines issued by an ad hoc administrative committee to be set up after an accident. In other words, the law envisages that such an administrative procedure of paying ‘damages’ would satisfy victims of a nuclear accident. However, the scheme of the law has not worked as well as the law expected. As the law did not provide how damages should be paid in case a total amount of damages would surpass the expected amount, guidelines for payment have been issued piecemeal. Moreover, the guidelines have been challenged even in settlement procedures. The nuclear ADR was initially designed for an out of court procedure against the backdrop of the extremely small lawyer population. However, the nuclear ADR has been operated as a rational settlement procedure rather than a procedure of traditional style of compromise, which requires lawyers’ involvement to handle cases. The Japanese society has grown to require legal intervention in handling mass claims but the existing structure of the legal system is unable to provide necessary amount of legal services to victims of the nuclear disaster.