It’s been three years since the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster swallowed up whole cities and caused one of the worst nuclear power disasters in history. For much of the world the devastating event is a distant memory – except for people in California who, for some reason, to this day think swimming in the ocean is going to give them three eyes or four boobs or something.
But for many living near the crippled Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant, like the inmates at a Kagoshima City prison located within the nuclear evacuation zone, the Tohoku earthquake and the persistent effects of the subsequent nuclear disaster altered their lives forever; so says a former inmate who is formally suing TEPCO for emotional distress.
The unnamed complainant says the disaster profoundly affected her life and the lingering radiation in the evacuation zone caused her prolonged emotional grief and worry, especially after her request for a prison transfer to a location outside of the evacuation zone was denied.
The woman says TEPCO owes her 3 million yen (or US$30,000) in damages to make up for the nuclear meltdown deeply affecting her life – even forcing her to cancel plans to have a baby for fear the child would suffer birth defects.
We’re certainly rooting for the woman, who was only imprisoned for three years and is now free, but we’re not holding our breath; seeing as TEPCO was voted the second “Most Evil Corporation” of 2012, they’re probably just as likely to send one of their Yakuza contractors to murder the poor woman.
Source: MSN Sankei News

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