Damages for pain and suffering of evacuees outside the evacuation zone in court cases: focusing on the legal interest in the reasonableness of the evacuation

There have been many evacuees suffering from the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima 1st Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) since 2011. The evacuation zones have been set up by the government according to the level of radiation dose. The Nuclear Damage Dispute Review Panel published interim guidelines with regard to these zones. Normally, the evacuation zone and the compensation are completely different (fighting the widespread damage and the invisible fear of radioactive materials). However, when awarding damages, the government relied these interim guidelines. This made a division among victims of the Fukushima Accident. And this system has resulted in a relief gap between evacuees; relief gap means between residents living in areas covered by the interim guidelines for compensation and the rest of the population. This article will focus on a case in which the court awarded compensation for evacuees according to a different standard than the interim guidelines (legal interests specific to the Fukushima Accident). As a result the courts have recognized compensation more widely than the interim guidelines. In particular, it is remarkable that the court affirmed compensation for voluntary evacuees. The negligence of TEPCO and the consideration on the possibility of increasing the amount of mental damage are main focused in NPP accident cases in this study.