3.11 Great Earthquake

Activities of the JFBA and local bar associations for victims of the Earthquake

Right after the Earthquake, the JFBA and local bar associations began their activities for victims. Examples of their activities are as follows:

 

- The JFBA assists victims with their claims against the Tokyo Electric Power Company (“TEPCO”). TEPCO, responsible for the nuclear power plant incident, prepared a more than 150 page guidebook for compensation. The guidebook is not easy to understand. Further, the procedure for compensation set by TEPCO is also complicated. The JFBA has already had numerous consultations with victims who could not understand the procedure.  The JFBA believes that it is crucial to educate the victims regarding the procedure because victims can lose their right to claim additional damages if they sign documents related to their damage claims without understanding what they are signing. For this purpose, the JFBA prepared its own handbook for victims use and bar associations have now set special consultations with victims.

 

- “The Center for Dispute Resolution for Compensating Damages from the Nuclear Power Plant Incident” began to work from September 1, 2011. This is an organization created under “the Committee for Dispute Resolution for Compensating Damages from the Nuclear Power Plant Incident,” one of the committees of the Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.  This Center offers ADR for victims and aims for an easy and rapid resolution of problems they encounter when they claim damages against the electric power companies.  The members of this Center are attorneys, judges, and specialists form the Ministry of Justice.  The JFBA supports this Center and issued two public statements.

 

- The JFBA and local bar associations created important tools for victims:

- FAQ prepared by the Sendai Bar Association (Miyagi Prefecture).

- “Record notebook for victims of the nuclear power incident” has been prepared by the Fukushima Bar Association. This notebook assists victims in keeping a record of things necessary to claim damages against TEPCO. Other local associations have also made record notebooks.

- The JFBA created a record notebook for entrepreneurs designed specifically for individuals.

- Numerous consultations and telephone consultations have been carried out in Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures. These consultations were organized by the Fukushima Bar Association, the Sendai Bar Association, the JFBA, and the Japan Legal Center with support of many other local associations (three bar associations of Tokyo, Aichi, Yamagata, Kanto, Kinki, and Tohoku).  Local bar associations continue special consultations for victims.

- The toll-free telephone consultation hotline also received more than 4,500 calls as of October 7, 2011.

- A special telephone consultation hotline is also carried out in English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Tagalog, Spanish, Indonesian, Romanian, Thai, Burmese, Hindi, Bengal, Russian, and Polish.

- Besides the public statements and opinion papers, the JFBA uses TWITTER in order to release its opinions or important information concerning the disaster quickly.

 

These writings are the reflections of an attorney who was a victim of the Earthquake and nuclear power incident herself, and of two attorneys who went to the stricken areas to support the victims.

- Ms. Karoji described the problems that she encountered herself and the support that she is providing for victims in Fukushima Prefecture. Ms. Minagawa from the Tokyo Bar Association and Ms. Ichige from the Sapporo Bar Association explained their experiences of legal consultations with victims.

 

Personal experiences of attorneys

These writings are the reflections of an attorney who was a victim of the Earthquake and nuclear power incident itself, and of two attorneys who went to the stricken areas to support the victims.

Ms. Karoji describes the problems that she encountered herself and the support that she is providing for victims in Fukushima Prefecture. Ms. Minagawa from the Tokyo Bar Association and Ms. Ichige from the Sapporo Bar Association explained their experiences of legal consultations with victims.

 

• Ms Ayumi Karoji (Fukushima bar association) 
  Reflections on personal experience providing support to victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake (Part 3)
  
  
• Ms Miyagawa (Tokyo bar association)
  Reflections on personal experience providing support to victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake -Support offered by attorney from outside the affected areas (Part 2)
  
  
• Ms Ichige (Sapporo Bar Association)
  Reflections on personal experience providing support to victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake -Support offered by attorney from outside the affected areas (Part 1)

Donations

The JFBA has collected a large amount of donations from its members. Also the JFBA is particularly grateful to the Korean Bar Association and to the Minnesota State Bar Association for their kind donations.