東京電力公司前高管因福島核事故受審

A Japanese court has begun a trial of three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury. All three have pleaded not guilty in connection with the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, saying they could not have predicted the enormous tsunami that flooded the plant.

"I apologize for the tremendous trouble to the residents in the area and around the country because of the serious accident that caused the release of radioactive materials," said Tsunehisa Katsumata, former chairmen of TEPCO. He added, however, "I believe I don't have a criminal responsibility in the case."

If convicted, Katsumata and former vice presidents Sakae Muto and Ichiro Takekuro face up to five years in prison and a fine up to $9,000.

The charges against the executives are linked to the deaths of 40 hospital patients who were evacuated from the Fukushima area and later died.

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami killed 20,000 people in northeastern Japan. Not only did the disaster trigger the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima power plant, it also reignited debate about the risks of nuclear energy.

Communities around the plant and even those that were hundreds of kilometers away, were evacuated. Some areas remain uninhabitable.日本一家法院開庭審理負責福島核電站的東京電力公司三位前主管的案件，他們的罪名是業務過失致人死傷。三名被告都稱，在2011福島核事故中無罪，說自己無法預見巨大的海嘯會淹沒核電站。

東京電力公司前董事長勝俁恆久說：“我爲嚴重事故造成放射性物質泄漏，給當地和全國人民帶來的困擾表示道歉。”他補充說，不過，“我認爲，我在這起事故中不承擔刑事責任”。

如果被判定罪名成立的話，前董事長勝俁恆久、前副社長武黑一郎，以及武藤榮將面臨最長五年監禁，最多9千美元罰款。

這些高管受到的指控跟40名從福島地區被疏散，住院醫治，後來死去的病患相關。

2011年日本東北部發生的地震和海嘯造成兩萬人喪生。這起災難不僅導致福島核電站三個核反應堆的融化，同時也引發了有關核能源風險的辯論。

福島核電站附近，甚至是幾百公里以外的社區都進行了疏散，一些地區至今不能住人。