In the first ruling of its kind in Japan, a court has ordered a kindergarten to pay almost $2 million to the
parents of four of five children who were killed after staff put them on a bus that drove straight into the
path of an oncoming tsunami.
Sendai District Court ordered Hiyori Kindergarten to pay 177 million yen ($1.8M) to the parents of
the children killed in the aftermath of the 2011 mega-quake that measured 9.0 on the Richter scale,
according to court documents.
“The kindergarten head failed to collect information and sent the bus seaward, which resulted in the loss
of the children’s lives,” Saiki was quoted as saying on public broadcaster NHK.
I ? Word Understanding
Oncoming Tsunami ?approaching large wave from the ocean
Aftermath ? after effects of the natural disaster
II ? Have your say
1.The parents had initially sought 267 million yen ($2.7 million) in damages. Local media reports said the
decision was the first in Japan that compensated tsunami victims.
2.People may disagree about the huge reward money for the dead school kids. Do you agree with the
amount of compensation demand?
3. This schools was sues because their driver, while trying to evacuate the kids, could not correctly predict
the timing and path of a once-in-50-lifetimes tsunami.Should the Japanese school now require all school
staff to have knowledge about geophysics?
178 Japanese kindergarten ordered to pay $1.8 million over tsunami deaths
