On the second anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, hundreds of survivors of the disaster on March 12, 2013 filed a law suit against the Japanese government. A group of about 800 residents have demanded that the government, along with the Tokyo Electric Power Company and operators of the damaged plant, restore the region in its pre-disaster state.
The suit has been filed on behalf of claimants, who also include six month old babies and pensioners who are above 80 years old. The plaintiffs have demanded 55,000 yen in compensation for losses for every month since the disaster. The new suit by the victims coincided with the day when the nation observed a silence at 2:46 pm in memory of the 19,000 lives, which were lost two years ago.
The Japanese coast was hit by an earthquake of magnitude of 9.0 in 2011 and was followed by a deadly tsunami. Several memorial ceremonies took place throughout the disaster zone and also in Tokyo where the emperor and the empress were joined by Shinzo Abe the Prime Minister for a national remembrance service.
Emperor Akihito said, “I pray that the peaceful lives of those affected can resume as soon as possible”. The disaster had caused the nuclear power plant at Fukushima to go into a meltdown, creating a nuclear crisis in the area.
