A local court ruled today that the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (Tepco) were liable for negligence in the Fukushima disaster six years ago, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

The Maebashi District Court in Gunma prefecture of central Japan, ruled that the central government and Tepco shall pay a total of 38.55 million yen (RM1.15 million) to some 137 evacuees from Fukushima in Gunma prefecture for their sufferings.

According to the court ruling, the government should have used its regulatory power over Tepco to take preventive measures based on previous predictions of huge earthquakes and tsunamis in the area.

It also said that it would have been easy for Tepco to prepare some emergency power sources in high places to prevent the disaster.

A series of group lawsuits have been filed in 18 different prefectures in Japan by evacuees from Fukushima.

It was the first time that a court recognised the state's liability for damages of evacuees in the 2011 disaster, and might impact later court rulings on other cases.

- Bernama