A power company was reported to have paid the 'biggest criminal fine ever' after a huge nuclear meltdown.
After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Fukushima nuclear power plant triggered a devastating event in which 150,000 people had to flee their homes
Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) took the wrap for the disaster and was eventually ordered to pay an incredible £330 billion.
Japan is prone to earthquakes and the country's parliament concluded the devastating accident "was the result of collusion between the government, the regulators and Tepco, and the lack of governance by said parties".
Citing "ignorance", a report continued: "They effectively betrayed the nation's right to be safe from nuclear accidents. Therefore, we conclude that the accident was clearly 'man-made'.
"We believe that the root causes were the organisational and regulatory systems that supported faulty rationales for decisions and actions, rather than issues relating to the competency of any specific individual.
Three former Tepco executives were cleared of negligence in 2019, but the company was ordered to pay £330 billion in compensation.
This week, individuals were made responsible for the disaster for the first time and four former executives were ordered to pay compensation of over £79 billion.
It was the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl incident in 1986 following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake that triggered waves that enveloped the reactor's cooling systems.
In June this year, the company apologised to a number of plaintiffs who were awarded damages.
TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa said: "We sincerely apologize to you for upending your lives and causing irreparable mental and physical damage with the nuclear disaster."
Some members of the group accepted the apology, but others remained damning after the apology was read on behalf of the company president, rather than in person.
Deputy leader of the plaintiff group, Tomio Kokubun, said: "It shows a lack of common sense, given that the company caused an accident of such magnitude."
Despite this, the group's secretariat was a little more welcoming after 216 plaintiffs successfully sued the company for the "loss of their hometowns".
Naoko Kanai said: "I would like to accept the apology and want to believe the words reflect the company’s determination to make efforts to restore the lives of the residents."
The huge fine far outstrips any other fine paid by a major company. BP eventually forked out £47 billion after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
