Would the Japanese government allow TEPCO to face billions in claims? No. The government has in its power the decision as to whether or not this is a natural disaster (no lawsuit) or a human disaster (negligence – lawsuit).

The Japanese government will decide that this was a natural disaster. Count on it. The government despite TEPCO’s incredible record of poor judgment has little choice. Letting the company go bankrupt would put the Japanese government on the hook for billions in cleanup costs. It also would remove a valuable layer of blame.

The government and the utility company were Siamese twins of disaster. Each facilitated the other’s incompetence. This disaster would not have been possible if either one had acted with competence and judgment. But the intertwined nature of industry and government not only made disaster inevitable but had produced serious incidents in the past that should have been a warning.

Stay tuned for more poor judgment on the part of the Japanese government.

James Pilant

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) may face as much as 2 trillion yen ($23.6bn; £14.5bn) in compensation claims, according to JP Morgan.

From further down in the article –

Tepco shares have lost more than 75% of their value since 11 March, in the process hitting all-time lows.

From further down in the article –

Under Japanese law, operators of a nuclear facility can be waived of any liability if the accident is deemed to have been triggered by a natural disaster of an exceptional character.

Whether the current crisis fits that classification will determine the course for Tepco, analysts say.

“A key issue concerning damage compensation is whether the Fukushima nuclear plant accident is considered an unavoidable natural disaster,” said Tomohiro Jikihara of JP Morgan.