Japan Press Weekly

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2019 September 4 - 10 [LABOR]

Vietnamese trainees engaged in Fukushima decontamination work sue for damages

Three Vietnamese trainees recently filed with the Fukushima District Court Koriyama Branch a lawsuit against a construction company in Fukushima’s Koriyam City demanding that the company pay a total of 12 million yen in damages as it had them engaged in decontamination work related to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdowns which led to their radiation exposure.

This was revealed on September 4 at a press conference in Tokyo by a trade union that supports the three Vietnamese.

The plaintiffs came to Japan in July 2015 under the foreign trainee program. During two years from March 2016, the three Vietnamese received no training as required and instead were assigned to radiation decontamination work in Koriyama City and nearby locations without obtaining necessary information regarding radiation exposure risks which is required by the Industrial Safety and Health Law.

The Fukushima construction firm admits that it had the three engaged in decontamination work.

One of the three plaintiffs conveyed a message via their legal team, “I had to do a lot of decontamination work, but I was not told it’s a dangerous job. I am afraid of becoming yet another radiation victim.”

Past related articles:
> Gov’t argues against TEPCO’s plan to use foreign workers for decommissioning work at Fukushima Daiichi NPP [April 24, 2019]
> Foreign trainees testify about harsh working conditions to opposition party Dietmembers [November 9, 2018]