A Japanese court found the government and the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant negligent for failing to take measures to prevent the 2011 nuclear disaster, ordering them to pay some 1 billion yen ($9.5 million) in damages to thousands of residents for their lost livelihoods. The Sendai High Court found fault with the government in the meltdowns of three reactors, saying the regulatory agency at the time could have predicted a major tsunami way before the disaster, according to lawyers representing the more than 3,600 plaintiffs. The ruling was a major victory for the plaintiffs and could set a precedent for similar lawsuits pending across the country, according to the plaintiffs’ head lawyer, Izutaro Managi. So far, 13 lower court decisions were divided over government responsibility in the disaster. The Court also ordered the government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to pay damages to the plaintiffs, doubling the amount that a lower court had ordered TEPCO to pay

in 2017.